Promethes Mneme
by Apakoha
Summary: Luke timetravel fic. When Lorelei sent Luke into an alternate universe to change things, Luke thought there would be nothing that could stop him; after all, he'd lived it before. But his alternate friends still had free will and then there was Gunthrea...
1. Prologue

_**Title: Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Note:** Well, this is the beginning of my first attempt at something epic. Thanks to darkangel and ladynadiad for getting my writing tush off of the ground; thanks to my awesome beta-person, eagle711, who finds all of these nasty typos. This fic is not technically AU, but in spirit, it is a time-traveling fic. Not only that, but it's a Luke-goes-back-to-(insert plan here). I've gone through the ToA section and have seen that someone else has already got one on the go - well, time travel was never an original plot. This plotbunny's been kicking around for a while, and I thought it was about time it was posted. Reviews are appreciated, as some of you know. So, enjoy!

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ND2000. In Kimlasca shall be born the scion of Lorelei's power. He will be of royal blood with hair of red. He shall be called the 'light of the sacred flame' and he will lead Auldrant to new prosperity._

_ND2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city. There, the youth will turn power to calamity and be as a weapon..._

_The Grand Fonstone, under possession of the Order of Lorelei in Daath_

* * *

It was a stubbornly hopeful group that assembled at Tataroo Valley; the place where the immense citadel of Eldrant had crashed the year before. The small group talked amongst themselves quietly, all of them keeping a close eye on the direction of Eldrant. The red haired man slowly walked towards them. Tear pushed herself off of the boulder and held herself back, hoping. 

_Luke..._ she thought anxiously, _Please be here for good._

When the man with Luke's face stopped in front of them, close enough for them to hear him without shouting. Tear walked up to him and looked in his eyes.

Looking back at her was Asch. She didn't need to ask him or Asch didn't need to say anything, but Tear just knew that this was not Luke. But she didn't say anything either. Asch seemed frozen. Anything he might have said had died in his throat.

"Luke?!" said Anise hopefully, "Luke, you're here! I -" The girl cut herself off when Tear's shoulders sagged.

"Luke?" Anise asked, a little despairingly.

Natalia was torn. On one hand, Asch was here and alive. Her original betrothed. On the other, this meant Luke was dead and gone.

"Asch?" she asked quietly. The man finally responded. He slowly turned to face Natalia.

"Natalia," he breathed, as quietly as her, "I'm..."

Anise and Natalia walked up to get a closer look at him, but Guy and Jade remained where they were. To them, it would somehow seem a betrayal to go and greet Asch.

"Asch," said Natalia, with more finality. She and Anise had stopped next to Tear right in front of the man.

"Natalia, I -" Asch started to speak.

"Where's Luke?!" Anise interrupted.

Asch's answer was evidently too grave for him to even glare at Anise. In fact, he wasn't able to make a coherent sound for about a minute.

"... He's not... coming back..." The words were whispered and strangled.

Anise scrunched up her face and whipped away from Asch. She walked back towards Jade and Guy. They held a quiet conference, furious in its intensity. Jade's eyes hardened almost imperceptibly, and Guy's entire face seemed to grow _thinner_. His facial transformation was heartbreaking to watch.

Tear and Natalia, still in front of Asch, watched the three for a few moments before turning back to the man.

"I'm sorry," said Tear quietly and she turned and walked away. She did not join the others, though. Tear instead chose to rest her hand on the boulder she had been sitting on and stared very intently on empty space, her back to everyone else.

Then it was just Asch and Natalia.

"Asch," said Natalia softly, "I missed you."

"Natalia," responded Asch, "I'm... very glad to see you."

Natalia paused. "Need you speak so formally with me?"

"That's ironic, considering your usual choice of words," Asch said, beginning to smile. Natalia smiled back, but it faltered soon.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I just... it's just... _disappointing_... realizing that Luke isn't going to come back. He was my cousin as well."

"My idiot replica," mumbled Asch.

Natalia translated that accurately. Asch missed him, too.

A thought that had haunted her for the past year came to mind.

"So... What have you been doing for the last year? What kept you?" asked Natalia.

"Recuperating," said Asch bluntly, "It was bizarre. I felt as though I could have been put together in an instant, but -"

"Put together?" questioned Natalia.

"Er, Lorelei."

"Ah," said Natalia, understanding. No more really needed to be explained.

"Anyway, the time it took for me to be fixed seemed to be expanded. I spent a lot of time wandering around the planet. I can't really explain it."

"Interesting," commented Natalia.

There was a pause. In that time, Guy walked up to them, heedless of the bright selenias underfoot. His posture was understandably cold.

"Asch," Guy said, nodding his head a bit. Asch stiffly returned it. The two men remained silent for a few minutes while they worked up words for conversation.

Eventually, Guy spoke.

"You'll be returning to the manor, then?" he asked, his tone bordering on rude.

"Yes," responded Asch, "I don't have anywhere else to go."

"I see," said Guy. That was the end of it. Guy then turned and walked away. He waved goodbye to Jade and Anise (Tear wouldn't have seen) and then left the valley.

Deciding to leave as well, Jade and Anise approached Asch and Natalia.

"I had better get back to Daath," was Anise's excuse, "Bye, Natalia... Asch." Jade merely inclined his head. They both left the valley, walking slowly side by side. Tear lifted her head as they passed. Anise turned to look at the older woman and after a moment of muttered conversation, Tear joined the them. Then it was just Asch and Natalia.

"I'm sorry," breathed Asch.

"Please don't be," said Natalia quietly, "Excuse all of us – losing Luke is... crushing." Her words almost didn't make it as her breath hitched.

Asch reached out and took her shoulders, clearly uncomfortable. Natalia placed her hands on Asch's arms.

"Come home, Asch," asked Natalia gently.

Asch nodded mutely. He was going to go home.

But the unasked question hung between them: what about Luke?


	2. Occam's Razor

_**Title: Promethes Mneme by apakoha**_

**Author's Note: **Wow, thanks a bunch for all of the reviews! Again, thanks to my beta primo, eagle711 and to the writing encouragement of lady, DA and Meimi.

Meimi: Yes, Luke would be very, very disappointed in them. He'd be so upset...

Blaze 909: Whoa, thanks, and, uh, I'm glad you're inspired!

Thanks again to everyone!

* * *

Luke knew only two things: Asch and the whiteness. The whiteness faded after a while – after all, it was just white. It illuminated, it glowed, it was dull. The still, pale man in Luke's arms was infinitely more interesting. The body occupied all of his attention. It wasn't a pleasant type of attention. Luke's face scrunched up miserably as he studied Asch's almost-white face. In his detached state, Luke was only distantly aware of the hysterical question: when Asch was completely white, would he be as uninteresting as the white light surrounding them? 

Part of Luke's so distant psyche was the inclusion of Asch. Upon the death of Asch and the sending of his powerful hyperresonance, Luke had the edgy feeling that Asch's mind had not disappeared. In fact, Luke had a half-constructed theory that Asch's psyche had taken a ride with the hyperresonance and was deeply affecting – that wasn't his thought! It practically proved the theory, though... But Luke felt no elation at the thought that Asch was alive; nor did he feel grief for his death, or sorrow for parting with his friends, or... Luke/Asch realized that he/they didn't feel anything. Then a deep masculine voice rang out, and Luke felt something leave from his mind – but the emotions did not return.

_You have done admirably, _Lorelei said, _Who would have thought that the future I saw would be rewritten?_

Luke watched Asch being healed dispassionately, as if this were Goldberg's rendition of Macbeth. Now that he was alone, the body was not as fascinating. He much preferred to see where he was falling with Asch's body in his arms. They were slowly falling into the core, he knew that much.

_Luke... Give me Asch,_ Lorelei requested. Luke obliged, holding him up in his arms. Asch slowly vanished from Luke's arms, as did everybody in death. And then all of his emotions rushed back, so quickly Luke could hardly blink before he felt crushed by everything.

_Now_, started Lorelei again_, what would you give for your friends' lives? For Asch's life?_

Still reeling, Luke could barely answer the question. It took him a moment to deal with everything so quickly (Asch was gone, Tear was gone, everyone was gone, Asch was back and gone again and what was going on?), and then think about what Lorelei had said.

"I'd – I'd do anything. I'd give my own life to keep them alive and happy." Luke could practically feel his sincerity coming to the surface. The words were spoken with the certainty of experience of willingly giving up one's life.

_Indeed..._

Luke could almost hear the entity thinking.

"Lorelei, what is it?" he asked, hesitantly.

_...Luke, I have a task for you. I will not lie; it will be very difficult._

"Difficult as in life or death? I promised everyone I'd come back. I have to. Please." Luke pleaded desperately with the entity.

_I'm sorry to give you this choice, Luke. But know this, once I send you, my ability to help will be reduced. I will do my best to help you, but it's likely I will not even be able to contact you. _Lorelei was grave.

Luke heaved his shoulders.

"I – I don't know. Lorelei, I'm so tired..."

The thoughts of Lorelei hung in the air. In this silent exchange, the burden of Lorelei was transferred to Luke's shoulders. The young man's shoulders dipped even lower as if the task was a physical yoke. _And I don't even know what the task is_, Luke realized in one of his moments of self-pity. With the weight of a different world on his shoulders, Luke turned to Lorelei, as much as one could 'turn' to a non-physical entity.

"Lorelei?" Luke asked, feeling pitifully small.

_Yes?_

"Can I have a rest first...? I don't really think I'm ready."

_Of course. Let me refresh you._

"Wait, when are you going to tell me the mission? Right away?" Luke asked in panic, stopping Lorelei from putting him to sleep right away.

_If you like. _

Luke waited while Lorelei gathered his thoughts.

_I will be sending you to a world parallel to this one, a world where I still lie trapped. It diverged from this world when Vandesdelca created you. I need you, with your foreknowledge and experience, to go back and rescue me. You _must not_ destroy the replicas; Tear _must not_ become sick with the miasma. I will place you in a time after the divergence so you will have time to prepare._

"But, wait! What? That's not specific enough! I mean - "

_Good luck._ Even before Luke could process those words, he was falling asleep.

"Wait, why n...?"

* * *

After what was many, many hours to Luke, he woke up. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a very familiar bed. In fact, if Luke could remember how he got there, he would have said it was his own. Without opening his eyes, Luke yawned and stretched. When he had gotten comfortable, Luke opened his eyes, and was instantly jolted into wide-awake awareness. He was home! How did he get here? 

Wonderingly, he sat up and looked around. Maybe Guy was here, too – he'd know how Luke had gotten here so mysteriously. He moved his legs to the side of the bed and pushed himself out onto the floor. He nearly fell flat on his face. Luke instinctively threw himself backwards on his bed so he didn't fall forward. He was mostly proud that he didn't yell.

When Luke was sure he had his footing, he sat up again and actually tried to remember how he had gotten there. _I remember invading Eldrant and taking down Van... What happened after that?_

Luke looked around his room to try and divine some meaning from the objects strewn about. His bed, the window, his extra swords lying on the shelf, the mirror... Luke just didn't get it and decided to get out of bed. If Tear could see him being lazy for no reason, she'd scold him until his ears burned.

"Master Luke?" The maid's voice from outside the door interrupted his thoughts.

Luke swore in surprise. "Uh, yes?"

"Duke Fabre would like to see you in the drawing room?"

"Er, acknowledged. You're dismissed."

Luke looked down at his clothes and noticed how filthy and wrinkly they were. He even had some blood from the battle left over staining his front. He must have slept in them – Father would not be pleased. He went over to his closet and hoped that he had some other, suitable clothes lying around. No such luck.

So Luke tried to straighten out his clothes as best as he could while he ran to the drawing room. As he went through, a thought struck him. This place was missing one small creature named Mieu. If he was here, he would have jumped all over Luke with worry for his master. He'd have to ask Guy.

Luke opened the door and came face to face with Van and Natalia. He froze. _What's Van doing _alive?! _Why's Natalia so calm?!_ Then at that moment, he remembered exactly how he had gotten back to his manor. The half-explained mission and all of his foreknowledge upstanding, Luke was rather proud of his response: he only jumped a quarter out of his skin, and he squashed his shouts into a choke.

"Luke?" Duke Fabre asked, more curiosity in his voice than Luke had ever heard before.

"Uhhh..." Luke trailed off. He tried to think of something to say, something the old Luke would say, but nothing was coming!

"What have you got to say for yourself, Luke?" Natalia asked, sounding cross. Luke automatically put a hand behind his head.

"I'm sorry?" he said, feeling confused.

Van laughed as Natalia huffed. "You've slept in when Her Highness wishes to visit you." He smiled indulgently. But Luke avoided looking at him, still feeling shaken by the sight of him.

"I'm sorry, Natalia," said Luke more sincerely.

"You had better be," sighed the Duke. Luke quietly repeated the sigh as he heard condescension flood back into his father's tone.

"I'm sorry, Father," repeated Luke, wondering if he'd have to apologize to everyone in the household.

"Well, you must be in a good mood," Van said, "You're willing to apologize." Luke finally turned to him, and Van continued, "I was planning to teach you the theory of base artes today, but since Princess Natalia has come, I'll save that for tomorrow."

"Oh," said Luke, uncertain of how to act around Van. Would he get suspicious? He'd have to wing it. "I guess I'll... see you tomorrow, then?"

Van and his father immediately frowned.

"Are you feeling alright, Luke?" asked Duke Fabre. Luke groaned in his head. That wasn't like the old him at all!

"I mean, no use complaining about it, right? Besides, I don't think Natalia would like having to wait."

The two men still looked suspicious, but after a couple more 'goodbyes', Van left.

"So, Luke," Natalia said, "To the courtyard?"

"Actually, I was wondering..." Luke nervously looked at his father. "Could we go to the castle instead?"

The other two were surprised. That rule was absolute; Luke hadn't challenged it since he was fifteen.

"Please, Father? I'll be responsible, I promise. And there are lots of guards there, too, so security won't really be a problem..."

"Luke, you know that isn't up to me," sighed Duke Fabre, "Your uncle's rules are absolute, as you should already have impressed on you."

"It's for your safety," Natalia persuaded, "It's only a few more years."

Luke sighed. "Forget I asked."

They subsided, apparently satisfied.

"Alright, Luke, let's go to the courtyard."

"Okay."

Luke felt incredibly nervous as they walked. Even if Natalia had naturally been a nicer person than he had been, she wasn't the Natalia he knew. The old Natalia wasn't the type to keep secrets either – if Luke even called her by an old nickname Asch used to have for her, she would tell everyone his memory was returning and the ensuing mess would never end.

Unfortunately for Luke, they had already reached the bench, leaving him no time to prepare for a conversation.

"Well, Luke, how have your studies been going? Your mother says your grasp of the Fonic language is as good as it's going to get, but you haven't been putting it into practice."

Luke flushed and was about to tell her that his grasp of the language was _fine_, thank you very much... But then inspiration struck.

"Er, actually, Natalia..," he trailed off, still red in the face. Oh, how he hoped she wasn't going to laugh.

"Yes?" she prodded.

"I haven't told anyone, but I'd like to learn Ancient Ispanian." Luke wasn't embarrassed, but he was worried about the suspicions that might spring up because of this new urge.

"Well, I think that you'd have to prove your adequacy with the Fonic language first," teased Natalia.

"Hey!" protested Luke, "I understand everything!"

Natalia 'hmm'ed disbelievingly, but it wasn't cruel. "Would you like to know a few words?"

"Er, please?"

And then Natalia burst into a vocabulary mini-lesson that left Luke dizzy. He struggled to follow the meanings of certain words – Natalia was frustrated with the lack of pen and paper, but she tried her best to carry on vocal translations. Alma was soul, pata was leg, ojo was eye, espalda was back, mano was hand, quinto was -

"Whoa, Natalia," interrupted Luke, "I don't pick up things that fast!" He was a bit flattered that Natalia thought his memory was _that_ good, but he really didn't want her to expect him to remember all of this!

"I suppose so," she agreed (albeit a little grudgingly), "Luckily for you, the grammar is identical."

"Thank goodness for small victories." Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'll leave the Ancient Ispanian to Guy, or whoever teachers you. What about your sword studies with Dorian General Grants?"

"Well," said Luke vaguely. Natalia raised an eyebrow, waiting for more. After it was obvious that Luke wasn't going to say anymore, Natalia sighed.

"Alright, then. Usually this is the highlight of our conversations, but I can see that's gone." If one knew her well, one could see hints of real disappointment in her eyes. Luke did know her well, and picked up on her feelings.

"Nothing like that, Natalia," said Luke, panicking a little, "Don't be mad. How's your archery doing?"

"Well," said Natalia blithely.

"Natalia!"

The princess raised an eyebrow again (Luke correctly interpreted this as "fair's fair"), but she did continue.

"I've mastered moving targets. I'm just now starting to work on running an obstacle course."

"An obstacle course?" asked Luke. He had no idea what an archery obstacle course would look like. Natalia looked happy that Luke was asking.

"It's to test my accuracy on still targets while I move. Eventually as I improve, the targets will be moving as well." She couldn't keep the pride out of her voice.

Luke was impressed.

"I had no idea your training was so intense."

"You've never asked before," Natalia said delicately. Her features had faded into something very prim, effectively hiding her true thoughts.

Luke was quiet again, feeling guilty. It was unbelievable how self-centered he'd been. But what about Asch? Surely _he _hadn't been so rude.

"Did I ask about your training before I was kidnapped?" Luke asked in a painfully child-like voice.

"Yes," said Natalia quietly, after a pause. Luke lowered his head.

He opened his mouth to say sorry, but Natalia spoke before he made a sound.

"Please don't feel guilty about it, Luke. Technically, you're only seven years old -"

Luke's head shot up in panic, looking at her with wide eyes. _Does she know I'm a replica? How could she?_

" - Luke, don't look at me like that. It's been seven years since you lost your memory, therefore this 'new you' has only been here for seven years."

Luke swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to convince his body that it was only Natalia's logic that had led her to that conclusion that was truer than she knew.

"That's an interesting way of looking at it," he said, trying to sound only a _little_ interested.

"A seven-year old can be excused a little selfishness, especially with all that you've been through," explained Natalia, "I mean, an enemy country kidnapping a ten-year old? It must have been terrible."

"If only I could remember the trauma," Luke sighed in mock sorrow.

Natalia smiled, but only a little. It was quiet between them until Luke decided to test the waters of this old-new Natalia.

"Why are we learning how to fight, anyway?"

"It's for the incident of a emergency. There's no need to gripe, Luke - "

"I'm not griping! I'm just curious! Don't we have guards? Don't we have the army? What are they expecting to happen to us?"

"Kidnapping," said Natalia flatly.

"Yeah, okay, point to you, but how often does that happen anyway? I know I was taught the sword even before that _and_ that my father never received his training until his engagement to Mother. Mother never received any other instruction, either. Why us? Why so young?" Luke was flinging his arms awry to emphasize the point. With the difference between the generations so bold, Luke marveled that nobody had wondered why Natalia and Luke were so special.

"We're royalty, Luke. We have to be ready for as many different circumstances as possible." Natalia sounded certain, the type of confidence any child would have in the answers given by their parents. Luke was starting to get frustrated with her; she wasn't getting the point!

"Why so young? It didn't do a lot for me. Are we the first in a new generation of battle-trained nobles or something? What's so special about _us_?"

"I – I don't know, Luke. I'll ask Father."

"Yeah, you do that," muttered Luke under his breath. Like Uncle would tell her the truth behind Luke's birth. Only the fact that everyone was so closed-mouthed about the Score let Luke feel free to rant about this.

"What was that, Luke?" asked Natalia curiously.

"Er, good enough." Luke waved her away.

"Oh. Well, is there anything else eating away at your mind that you've kept hidden?" It was a serious question, no teasing involved.

Another spark of inspiration hit Luke; almost better than his first epiphany.

"Actually, Natalia, I have a favour to ask. I'd like it if nobody knew."

"Why?"

"I'd just like to keep some things away from other eyes," Luke fidgeted.

"Such secrecy..," murmured Natalia, "Is this a favour I won't want to do for you?"

"I don't think you'll have a problem with it," Luke assured her. _If I'm right, you'll want to join in._

"Well, then, what is it?"

"Could you get me all of Dr. Jade Balfour's published works?"

"Luke, whatever for?" The princess blinked in surprise, bordering on shock. A studious Luke must be quite out of her experience.

"I, uh, read something recently about fonons and Jade's – I mean, Balfour's writing on the subject. I was just curious." Luke blushed darkly. _Why am I shy? Is it just because it's Jade? Lorelei knows how often he's embarrassed me..._

"That's a large sense of curiosity you have," Natalia said in a wondrous tone, "Balfour is known for his research on fomicry. I don't think it's something you'd be much interested in."

"Th-that's why! I – I mean, if I don't get it or I don't really understand it, I can drop it without anyone knowing I was interested in the first place!" Luke hoped she would think it was only for the sake of his pride. Things wouldn't go well if Natalia figured out that he was a replica from reading the books herself. Of course, she would have to get to the conclusion that she'd known two Lukes; that the Luke she knew was replaced. She wouldn't go there unless there was undeniable proof, and besides, it wasn't exactly the first conclusion a person jumped to. He hoped.

The conversation shifted to more mundane things and it stayed that way until the end of Natalia's visit. Eventually, she stood up to say her good-byes, but Luke stood up with her.

"I'll walk you to the front, Natalia," Luke offered.

Natalia blinked in surprise. "Well, that's nice of you," she said, pleased.

"Uh, it's no problem," said Luke, "It's just the courteous thing to do." He started started scratching the back of his head. _It's not that big of a deal. Why does she have to make it sound bigger than it is? Was I really so blind to other people?_

They quietly walked out of the courtyard and into the next hallway where the hazy light of the sunset couldn't be seen. They went into the front hallway and stopped underneath the sword Luke recognized as the Jewel of Gardios.

"So, I'll get those books to you as soon as possible," Natalia said, breaking the silence. Luke grinned.

"Thanks, Natalia."

"And I'll ask Father about... that issue. The discussion on our training."

"It's not such a big deal, really," said Luke, regretting starting the topic already. It had been very spur of the moment. "I was mostly just venting."

"But it did raise an interesting point. I'm interested now," assured Natalia.

Luke hesitated before agreeing. "Fine, then."

"I'll see you in a few days, Luke."

"Bye, Natalia." The red-headed noble smiled at her as a White Knight came to escort her back to the castle. He leaned against the pillar and stared at the entrance, thinking.

He thought he'd done a fairly good job of preparing already. He wasn't at all subtle about it, but Luke had never thought himself subtle anyway. The books on fonons and fomicry would cover his knowledge of them... Being more intelligent in conversation now would make Natalia less suspicious of any accidental revelations.

Van would be a problem. Luke honestly had no idea of how he was going to fool him. He wasn't a stupid man – he was the opposite: genius. Luke didn't think that he would be able to hold back his skill with the sword without Van noticing. Luke thought he could hide his other knowledge of science and politics from him. They weren't the kind of thing that usually came up in their training anyway.

"Well, you two got along well," said someone in a familiar drawl. Luke experienced a small heart attack before he realized it was Guy.

"Jealous?" said Luke, trying to sound _not_ strangled. He didn't think he had succeeded when Guy laughed.

"Not right now, no," the blond servant smirked.

"Okay, shut up," grumbled Luke, "Were you watching us? Don't you have anything better to do than spy on young nobles?"

"It's boring here," offered Guy as an excuse.

"You're allowed to go out," teased Luke.

"Yeah, well, I thought there was going to be an argument."

"Yeah..." agreed Luke without thinking. But he remembered... He and Natalia had gotten into a fight the first time around. Guy was an accurate judge.

"So... What's new?" Guy asked.

"Did you hear anything?" asked Luke awkwardly, going back to the time he and Natalia talked.

"Not really." Guy shrugged, "Just watched."

"Well, I talked with Natalia about something and she thinks I should do it," Luke said. If he could get the Ancient Ispanian out of the way soon, it would be that much easier.

"What is it?" Guy asked.

"I'd like to start learning Ancient Ispanian." Luke held his breath, completely hopeful that Guy wasn't going to make this more complicated than it needed to be.

Guy was silent, likely in quiet surprise, Luke thought. Maybe even in shock.

"Why?" asked Guy after his long pause. The playfulness was gone from his voice, replaced with a curious seriousness.

"Because I think I'm the only seven- ugh, seventeen-year old who doesn't know it." Luke stumbled over his age. Luckily the ages were the same, barring a syllable, so it was likely that it sounded like he had just tripped over his tongue.

"How would you know that?" said Guy suspiciously. Luke 'hmph'ed.

"I'm not _that_ ignorant," he sniffed, acting a little affronted, "I hear things."

"You know it's going to be slow going," Guy said cautiously.

"Yeah, but I'd just like to learn enough so it doesn't look like I'm an uneducated noble. I'm going to have to learn this stuff at some point, right? If I'm going to succeed my father."

"Alright, then."

Guy looked at him for a little longer. "...You've been acting weird today, Luke," he commented slowly.

Luke tried to cover up, but it came out awkwardly, "Well, maybe today's just the first day I'm showing it."

Guy stared at him. "...Right."

Nobody spoke for a few minutes. The atmosphere was uncomfortable. Too uncomfortable for Luke's liking.

"Wanna spar before it gets dark?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure," replied Guy easily, and started walking towards the courtyard. Luke inwardly breathed a small sigh of relief. Since Guy wasn't as good as Van, Luke could practice holding back.

As Luke found out, he didn't need to hold back that much. This old body of his (new body of his?) didn't react with the speed he was used to. Luke didn't use any of the artes he learned over the past few years. Luke found he actually needed to work to block some of Guy's attacks. Resisting the urge to go for any and all weak spots was difficult, though.

He still remembered certain lectures. _Take every opportunity you can! It means the difference between life and death! _Luke specifically remembered that one from Tear. Temporarily letting go of his training was going to be harder than he'd thought. But he'd also be relearning bad habits; regressing in his skills. Luke hated the thought. He thus resolved to train by himself after Van was gone each day so he didn't pick up any bad habits.

"You're moving a lot better than usual," commented Guy, taking a neutral position so he could talk.

"What do you mean?" asked Luke, a little confused. It seemed pretty normal to him.

"Oh, I dunno. A little less arrogantly, a little more defensively. It's an improvement."

"Thanks," said Luke automatically, and flew at his friend in a bold swipe before the blond could comment on it. They parried back and forth for a few minutes, then slowly came to a halt by unspoken agreement. Luke sheathed his sword, breathing heavily, and turned to his room.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Luke said a little too casually. Guy couldn't see his face, but Luke knew his servant could tell how tired he was.

"Sleep well," said Guy, and then he, too, headed for his rooms.

* * *

The next morning, Luke woke up and lay in his bed dreading the lesson with Van. In the back of his mind, he knew he couldn't fight Van without letting some of his skills show. Then Van would know something was wrong and he would... do what? Luke sat up in his bed, feeling a little more hopeful. Van certainly wouldn't confront him about it, he'd be too concerned about where he learned things from. 

Feeling cheered by this, Luke got up to get ready for the day. He got dressed and hurried to get breakfast before Van showed up. Wait, he should start calling him Master Van.

He met his parents at the table, who both blinked in surprise.

"Luke...," his mother said, concerned, "You're up early."

"Eh, just hungry," said Luke, a little embarrassed. His father snorted quietly. So Luke sat down and started wolfing down his breakfast. He felt his father's disapproving look on him. Without looking up at his father, Luke slowed down and attempted to use more manners. The table was quiet.

When Luke was finished eating, he looked up at his parents.

"Where's Master Van?" he asked, "He's coming today, right?"

"That's right," said his father, "He usually comes in around nine, and waits for you to get up."

"I see," said Luke thoughtfully. He glanced at the clock. "So I have half an hour." With that, Luke got up and left the table. As he left, his parents exchanged glances.

Luke went to the servants quarters. He passed a maid in the hallway.

"Hey, do you know where Guy is?" he asked her. She halted in her steps.

"He should be out of his rooms already. He might be out in Baticul if you haven't already seen him," she offered.

"Okay, thanks," Luke said and sighed. So he had half an hour to kill. He might as well wait in the entrance hall.

It was boring doing nothing but Luke survived the thirty minute wait until Van showed up at precisely nine o'clock.

"Master Van!" exclaimed Luke, leaping up.

"Luke!" Van said in surprise, "You're rarely up at this time."

Luke shrugged. "I was hungry?" he offered lamely. Van only laughed.

"Here's your training sword," Van said, holding out a familiar wooden blade. Luke grabbed it eagerly. Van smirked and took his own. They separated themselves so they stood a fair distance apart.

"Begin," ordered Van. The distance between them closed as they ran at each other, swords raised.

* * *

Van stared unseeingly as he stirred a cup of coffee. He was a big coffee drinker. The crisp scent was always comforting and familiar. Van would never let it show, but he was worried. His plans were being threatened. It was, albeit, a minuscule threat, but one that would have to be remedied. 

His problem was the replica. It seemed to have gone under a radical mental overhaul. Its thoughts were more mature, its intellect more honed, its personality softer and its reflexes more experienced. Just by watching one practice in the courtyard, Van could tell Luke was trying to hold back – doing miserably at it – automatic counters that he couldn't have devised on his own and perfected in a day or two. Van should know; he knew the Albert style to every last detail.

But there was a complication. Van could see no reason why the replica would know these things all of a sudden. Guy and Pere couldn't have – they trained in the Sigmund style and no matter the similarities, they were different styles. And added to these oddities, Luke had all of Dr. Balfour's books on order. Every last book.

Van saw no outside influence working on Luke. Guy and Pere were only friends, Natalia only a visitor, his parents too distant, and the staff were far from scientists or soldiers. If there was no outside influence, then... An inside influence?

Van decided it was a good time to check on Asch's activities. He abandoned his coffee to inform Duke Fabre of his intentions to leave for a few weeks. Daath wasn't just around the corner, after all.

* * *

Sync glanced at the paper in his hand again. It was so irritating... Pulled back from his mission on the Rugnican plains to come back to Daath and being told to go spy on Asch - who was also on the Rugnican plains. This was just pointless. Being the Missions Commander, Sync could have told the Commandant exactly where Asch was so that Van could go check up on him himself. The only good thing about it was that it was easy. Asch wouldn't be surprised nor would he care that Van was getting paranoid about him. 

But Sync just couldn't figure out why the mission to spy on Asch was so top-secret. As he thought before, Asch really wouldn't care. And it was a given that if Van thought it was such an important mission, he would be checking on Asch in person anyway. Sync just didn't see the point. But it was Van and he was Sync's commanding officer, so Sync needed to obey.

_It isn't even real sneaking around_, Sync grumbled. It was what he was really good at anyway, not this faux _thing_.

The ferry back to Grand Chokmah was a good three days at a decent speed, and another three to travel to St. Binah on foot. Asch could be in and out of there days before Sync returned.

Sync didn't bother with a coach at Grand Chokmah – he ran. He was faster than any coach. It took him only two days to reach St. Binah. Shurrey Hill was incredibly close, but no one ever went there. Unusual, since areas around Auldrants fon slots always seemed to have the most interesting natural life.

When Sync arrived at Shurrey Hill, he saw a huge hole carved into the hill. Not some animal hole but a path that looked like it had been cleared by heavy machinery, right into the hill. And it lead to a very colourful door, which Sync instinctively knew to be a Daathic seal. Asch had been successful, then. But the most important thing to notice was that there was no Asch in sight.

Sync swore. If Asch had left already...

"Asch!" the boy yelled. Maybe the redhead would still be around, for whatever reason.

"Asch!" Sync called again. Feeling a little hopeful, Sync started to look around the other paths, still yelling for Asch periodically.

The older God-General didn't answer, but Sync found him anyway. When he saw Asch, he knew why Asch hadn't responded and forgave him a little. The God-General in question was deep in a fon verse – from the choppiness of the words, Sync guessed that Asch was looking for something specific. It was several minutes before Asch stopped muttering and lowered his sword, allowing the sparks of fonic artes to disappear. When he did, a large red stone appeared in front of him.

"What's that?" asked Sync, showing no surprise.

"Dawn Age technology," grunted Asch, "Hitting them with fire makes them disappear. When they're all gone, the path to the Sephiroth is opened. I'm closing the path."

"I see."

"Why are you here?" asked Asch irritably, "What about Square Zenith?"

"No good," sighed Sync, "It was a fon slot, but definitely not one of the Sephiroth. The commandant sent me here."

This made Asch stop in his tracks. "Van sent you?" he asked slowly, "Why would he want to check up on me now?"

Sync shrugged. "It makes no sense to me."

"So you were actually sent to spy on me," said Asch, but it wasn't simply a statement.

Sync hesitated before saying anything, but he did respond, "Yes."

Asch grunted and walked away, presumably to recreate another stone. "Thanks for telling me."

Sync followed him. "So if there's anything you're doing that's making Van paranoid, best keep it hidden for a while."

"You're being suspiciously on my side," remarked Asch, too casually for the subject, "Why?"

"Van dragged me out of Square Zenith, back to Daath, gave me instructions in paper and sent me back here. I'm kind of irritated."

Asch chuckled. "You're very unforgiving, Sync."

Sync shifted his mask with a finger. "I know."

Asch stopped and lifted his sword in front of his face in preparation to cast. He turned his head to Sync to talk a bit before he recreated another stone.

"So I guess you'll be sticking around for a while?" asked Asch.

"I guess so."

* * *

Life for Luke continued in the same vein it did as his first day. Van came back from his two-week trip and started watching Luke a little more closely for anomalies in what he thought was the perfect mindless pawn. Natalia did deliver those books to Luke as discreetly as she could in person when Van wasn't there, although Luke knew that Van knew that he had them. 

Natalia and Luke's relationship grew tighter all the time as Luke tried to help her see how her attitude was affecting other people while at the same time being as open with her as she needed. The first of these times came when Natalia visited about a week after Guy was walking with Luke to the drawing room. Natalia had come to deliver Jade's books in a large box, telling everyone that it was just some books for the servants. Guy accompanied Luke to the drawing room where Natalia was waiting.

Natalia had the box set on the table, and Luke peered inside interestedly.

"Are these them, Natalia?" he asked eagerly, and he picked one up and started flipping through it. He turned back to the cover and saw the bold 'Dr. Jade Balfour' printed on the front, right under the title, _The Theory of Fomicry in Terms of Rem_.

"Yes," answered Natalia, "I hope you get something from them, Luke. I was looking through them earlier and they looked very complicated."

Luke shrugged. "I'll just get Guy to explain it to me if I have trouble."

The blond servant stepped up next to Luke and picked up the next book in the pile.

"Luke?" Guy questioned, "What _is_ this?" His expression was a mix of sternness and curiosity. Luke was a little unprepared to answer. _Great, what do I tell him? Just that I was interested? I don't think he would believe that._

"I, er, found some reading material on fomicry," started Luke, hoping it didn't sound completely implausible, "and Jade Balfour seemed to be pretty, uh, knowledgeable, so I got Natalia to get me these books. I dunno, I guess I wanted to see what it was."

Guy didn't even bother with giving Luke a look, he just quietly flipped through the book in his hands. Everything was quiet until he spoke again.

"I don't know what's going on, Luke, but I'll bite. For now Be more careful about this." Guy at last lifted his head, and gave Luke a severe look.

Natalia huffed. "Guy! Show Luke more respect! You're his servant, not his father!"

Luke shot both of his friends a pleading look. "Natalia, please be nice to Guy. He's giving me advice. I respect his -"

Natalia interrupted. "Luke! He's a servant! You have a higher station, a higher responsibility!"

That made something click in Luke's head. She thought Guy wasn't important? "He's my caretaker. He'll protect my life. What responsibility could be higher to me? He's my best friend!" Luke's voice was raising.

"Calm down, Luke," said Guy quietly.

Natalia expelled her breath in a gust, making a hissing sound. "Luke, just -"

But Luke cut her off this time. He'd better get this issue out of the way as soon as possible.

"Natalia, I need you to listen to me," he said urgently, "I know you being the princess gives you this one mentality where you're better than everyone else 'cause you're gonna rule the country, but you need to understand the people, too."

"I do understand the people," protested Natalia, but Luke shook his head. He wasn't finished.

"Sure, you know the nobles, you at least try to know the common people, but what about the people in between? Servants are caught in between us and the people living down below. When they go out, people treat them with more respect because _they_ serve_ us. _They put up with our messes and food and whatever, and we usually demand more and take it for granted. But I can't stand to see you treat them like dirt, Natalia. They're human, too," Luke finished. Nothing was said. Both Natalia and Guy were staring at him. Luke started fidgeting, feeling uncomfortable. When they still didn't say anything, he looked down at the pile of books in the box.

"I'm just tired of my best friend being treated like crap," he muttered, "Just sick of it." Neither of them moved. Luke couldn't take it. He slowly picked up the box of books, and walked towards the door. He stopped next to Natalia.

"I'm sorry for yelling, Natalia." Luke was blushing; he could feel it. "Don't tell Father, please. He'd..."

"I - yes," murmured Natalia, putting her hand on his shoulder and quickly dropped it.

Luke nodded and left the drawing room. When he was in the courtyard, he turned and whacked his head against the brick wall next to him. And again. And again. _Stupid. Stupid. That was the stupidest thing I've done since coming here! I always gave into Natalia when she was cruel to Guy! Always!_ Luke groaned and whacked his head one more time and left it there. The pain came, but Luke accepted it. Just as well; he was going to reveal everything at this point. He was such a change from the other Luke they knew, but it wasn't like he could just forget all of the things he had learned.

Feeling quite despondent, Luke pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on and started trudging towards his room. There was nobody outside, and while lucky for him, Luke found he didn't care at all. He opened his door with one hand, balancing the box with the other, and let himself in. He dropped the box by his feet, and flung himself on his bed. For what seemed like a long while, he just stared up at his ceiling. He tried to think of how he should be acting to allay everyone's suspicions, but he was planning on outwardly changing anyway when Tear came, and they'd be even more curious if they didn't see the change themselves. Luke supposed that the best he could hope for was just acting like normal and letting everyone adjust to it. _I just hope they don't think I'm some sort of ghost that goes around possessing nobles or something._

There was a knock at his door.

"Luke?" It was Guy. Wondering, Luke got out of bed and opened the door. Natalia was standing next to Guy, a safe distance away. Privately, Luke marveled that Natalia hadn't taken charge and been the one to take the initiative.

"...Yeah?" said Luke, a bit wary. They hadn't really said anything before, so Luke had no idea how they were feeling.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry, Luke," said Natalia, "I've already apologized to Guy. I didn't know how you felt."

Luke looked at Guy, who gave a small shrug, and then turned back to Natalia. "It's okay."

"No, really, Luke. This has obviously been on your mind a while and I'm really sorry I offended you both."

Luke stared at her, thinking furiously. Natalia hadn't matured to this point until much later. Was it just the sudden change in Luke that made Natalia herself change? He must have really unbalanced her.

"Thank you, Natalia."

The young woman nodded and said her good byes before she left. Guy watched her leave and then looked at Luke. He handed Luke the book he had taken, but didn't let go when Luke took it.

"Luke?" Guy was very quiet.

"Guy, I - " Luke tried to apologize to Guy, he hadn't meant to blow up like that, but -

"Don't say anything. Look, I," Guy breathed in deeply. "I appreciate that you care, but I've really learned to expect it."

"But you don't deserve it," argued Luke.

But Guy's next words pierced Luke.

"You never used to care." Guy was almost glaring at his young charge.

Luke recoiled, stung.

"Of course I used to care, Guy! I'm just sorry that I never spoke up about it before."

Guy studied Luke closely, who squirmed a little under the scrutiny.

"Luke, I don't know what happened to you a week ago. Maybe you saw something that made you think. Maybe you're just now deciding to show that fact that you care. I don't know. But whatever it is... I like it." Guy gave Luke one last long look before leaving the threshold and returning to the main hallways of the manor.

That was the event that eased Luke's mind. He felt freer to be himself, and everyone felt better about it. It made him realize that people weren't going to automatically jump to the conclusion that since he was acting differently, he was a time traveler from the future. With the very notable exception of Van, Luke found that people looked for the obvious answer.

So for the next few months, Luke was busy. He trained very carefully under Van, not using any artes at all and goofing up as often as possible. Van wasn't fooled at all, but Luke could at least say he made the attempt. Van hadn't brought it up at all, but Luke knew (with a sinking feeling in his stomach) that Van was getting very, very suspicious.

Daily, Guy gave Luke proper vocabulary lessons in Ancient Ispanian. With his quick memory, Luke was soon able to carry out basic conversations. Most everyone delighted in chatting to Luke in Ancient Ispanian once Guy told his mother he was studying it, so his skill with the language never seemed to stop growing.

Natalia, in spite of her embarrassment, visited Luke often. She was convinced that Luke was hiding a lot more thoughts and ideals in his head, and so applied herself to try and dig up all of Luke's various ideas about the world. Luke was mostly glad to oblige her, but carefully avoided anything regarding fomicry. Aside from that, though, they covered a range of topics (varying in seriousness) from the difference in the food prepared for each of them, to the various changes brought about by Ion succeeding Evenos. (Natalia had to bring him up to speed on current political events, but didn't notice Luke's apparently intuitive understanding of politics, for which Luke was intensely grateful.)

Although he had intended to only have them for his cover, Luke actually picked Jade's books up from time to time. He could detect Jade's personality in the midst of the scientific blather, which made him feel somewhat accomplished. He hoped it might mean he 'knew' Jade a little. Too often on the previous journey, Luke felt that no one really knew Jade. Luke made a note to try and get to know the sardonic man a little better this time around.

There was one last thing that Luke had no idea how to handle: his hair. Going back to before everything started meant going back to his long hair. Luke had stood in front of the mirror a few days after his return to the past, fingering his hair, and contemplated the idea of cutting it. Cutting it had meant something very important to him, but on the other hand... Well, it might be useful to pass for Asch sometime in the future. Luke kept it long just in case.

After a few months of this busy lifestyle, Luke got out of bed and felt an unusual sense of foreboding. It wasn't a training day, but when Luke went to the drawing room for breakfast, Van was sitting, speaking with his parents. The three adults looked up when Luke walked in.

Luke blinked. "What's going on?"

Van patted the seat next to him, and Luke sat.

"I'm going away for a while," Van announced, "I don't know how long."

Luke's heart leaped up into his throat when things started getting very familiar.

"What for?"

"Fon Master Ion has gone missing. As a high-ranking member of the Order of Lorelei, it's my duty to go and look for him."

Luke nodded slowly, trying to calm himself. This was it! This was when everything started!

"Can we practice before you go? I'd kinda like to..." Luke trailed off, fidgeting nervously.

"Of course," said Van. He stood up and started walking to the courtyard. Luke stood up and started to follow him, but forgot something. He stopped at the door and turned back to his parents.

"Mother, Father? I love you." He left the room before they could react. Then he went into the center where Van was waiting with training swords. Guy was on a bench, watching the both of them.

Van tossed Luke a sword. "Ready, Luke? I want to teach you artes before I leave."

"Artes? Really?" Luke tried to sound enthusiastic.

"Yes," said Van, sounding amused, "The first one you'll learn is Fang Blade. You can feel that pressure building up behind your sword arm, right? Build up energy, and then release it when you swing towards the ground. Your natural fonons will..."

Van explained the theory behind it and showed Luke the basics behind the movement, and had Luke try it. Resisting the urge to get it right the first time, Luke shoved his energy towards the sword too fast and failed the move completely. What came out was a white-ish blur of colour that barely impacted the ground. Van nodded; this was expected.

"It's okay, Luke," Van said, "No one gets it on their first try. Again."

For most of the morning, Luke 'learned' Fang Blade until Van was satisfied. As Luke got better and better, Van started explaining the basics a little more thoroughly, which was new for Luke. That familiar pressure were actually his fonons being pulled towards the fonons outside of his body. As it was explained, physical artes like Fang Blade were actually a non-verbal form of regular fonic artes. One of the differences that made people classify them differently was that physical fonic artes moved through the body, while regular fonic artes just needed to be passed through the fon slots. Luke had thought that fonic artes and physical artes were different things, but Van was saying they were different ways of doing the same thing. The possibility of casting something like Indignation Judgment like Jade made Luke light-headed, completely forgetting the fact that since Asch could cast fonic artes, there was nothing stopping him in the first place.

Then they set about dueling. Guy sat up and really started paying attention. Luke played it carefully, leaving spots in his defense open for Van to exploit. Like a good teacher did, Van only attacked the obvious ones, so all the big problems would be fixed first. They danced around the courtyard for only a short while before a lilting voice sang seven words in a language almost never heard in this day and age.

"_Toue rei zue kuroa ryuo toue zue..."_

The effect was immediate. Guy grunted and fell back into the bench, and both Van and Luke whirled around, looking for the source of that familiar voice. Tear appeared at the door to the courtyard.

"Van!" she yelled, running forward with her knives, "Prepare to die!"

Luke leapt in front of Van and blocked her charge with his sword.

"Wait!" Luke yelled. But he suddenly stopped what he was about to say. A bright golden glow encased the both of them, and heedless of Van's shout, both teenagers vanished with an explosion of light.


	3. The Journey Worth Taking

_**Title: Promethes Mneme by apakoha**_

**Author's Notes:** I'm completely blown away by the response to this story. Just jaw-dropping. All of you make a person feel real special, I hope you know that. In the future, if there are lots and lots of questions, I'll respond to them personally, because of all of the horrific things I've heard about stories getting deleted because of author's notes that are too long. But there are some questions that come up that I think have to be addressed in the update, so everyone knows. Weasel Debater asked whether this was an alternate dimension story or a time travel story. It is an alternate dimension. I suppose it was unclear when I called this a time travel story in spirit, because as you can see, it's working like a time travel does. I'm going to keep referring to it as a time travel fic for this reason, but so everybody is clear: _this is an alternate dimension._

The two dimensions is the foundation of the plot, so I can't reveal anything more at this point except what Lorelei told Luke in the previous chapter. You'll find out more as the plot progresses. :)

I can't comment on the original Auldrant at this point, but sit tight enjoy what happens. Thanks to all of the reviewers and hoping I'll pick up a few more this chapter. And thanks to eagle711, and fellow Abyss writers (you know who you are!). Enjoy!

* * *

Luke blearily opened his eyes to the sight of Tear scouting the small area for monsters. He groaned and sat up. The rough landing made his back ache; he realized he must have landed on it. Tear turned towards the boy when she thought they were safe. Luke was so excited to see her again – it had seemed like forever. His stomach roiled with the nerves of meeting her for the 'first' time. He carefully stood up, hoping his legs would hold him up. 

"Uh, who're you?" Luke asked, trying to keep the grin off of his face to avoid immediate suspicion. (Being sent to who knows where from the safety of one's home wasn't usually a trip that inspired giggles.)

"I'm Tear," said the soldier-girl after a pregnant pause, "That's an odd first question after something like this. Not a 'what happened'? 'Where am I'?" Alongside to her usual distrust of strangers, Tear was a bit puzzled by this boy. Luke had already planned this part of the conversation in a panicked afternoon a few weeks ago.

"I'll save the 'where are we', because I think I already know," replied Luke. He studied the area as if double-checking something. He wanted to look at her, so badly...

"Oh? So where are we?" asked Tear, disbelievingly.

"I think we're in Tataroo Valley." Luke bit his lip. It was so hard always wondering if he sounded natural or not!

Tear paused again, rethinking her sub-par opinion of Luke. "How do you know?"

"Well, it's night and look around us." Luke gestured to the field of flowers and the ocean beyond it.

"Selenias," noted Tear, nodding her head.

"And," continued Luke, "Tataroo Valley is one of the few places that they grow, probably because of a nearby fon slot."

"You're surprisingly well-read, Luke," said Tear suspiciously. Luke grinned, ignoring the fact that she knew his name and he hadn't introduced himself.

"Not really. The geography book had pictures."

Tear smiled at this. "Well, that's definitely better than nothing. Do you know what country we're in?"

"Well, I think it's Ma - " Luke froze suddenly. If he said they were in Malkuth, they would never go on the coach to Grand Chokmah. If they never got on that coach and end up in Engeve, they'd never meet Jade, Anise and Ion without Luke's direct interference. The opportunity would have to be introduced by Luke himself and not a proper matter of coincidence. "Uh – no, wait, it's in Kimlasca... Yeah, Kimlasca," Luke concluded lamely.

"Are you sure?" asked Tear, a bit worried about his indecision.

"Yeah," assured Luke, "I used to get it mixed up, but I'm sure it's Kimlasca."

"Alright, then," said Tear, "Let's get out of here. I need to get you back home."

"You need to get me back home yourself?" asked Luke curiously, "I'm competent. Mostly." He wasn't honestly trying to get her to back off (he knew she wouldn't anyway), but hearing her speak was both surreal and hair-raising.

"I got you involved in this," said Tear seriously, "This debt won't be paid off until I get you back home."

"Where you'll try to kill Master Van again," finished Luke. Tear didn't reply, only started to walk past him. Her shoulders were set rigidly.

"I don't mind," said Luke, now following her out of the Valley, "Master Van can take care of himself anyway. I'm just glad to finally get out of the manor."

"Why?" Tear asked. She slowed to let Luke walk beside her. Luke wasn't expecting Tear to actually ask about his home life. He mentally recalled the public story.

"Well, ever since I was kidnapped so many years ago, I was confined to the manor for my own safety. It's a pretty safe place, but it gets boring after a while." Luke rolled his shoulders in relief.

"I'd imagine so," said Tear sympathetically.

"So, Tear," Luke stopped so he could properly look at her, "you seem to know who I am. How?"

Tear stopped as well.

"I knew that Van was serving the young lord of House Fabre: Luke. You're the right age, so I assumed you were Luke." Tear was completely matter of fact.

Luke laughed. "Good guess, though you could have gotten my servant, Guy. He's around my age. You might have gotten a laugh. Or - " Luke tilted his head to the side, studying Tear, " - maybe not."

"How come?" Tear asked suspiciously.

"Guy has a phobia of women." Luke was unable to keep the grin off of his face. "If you're taking me home, you'll probably meet him."

"Oh." The pair started walking again in their relaxed pace. As they approached the river, however, a large rhinossus jumped out at them.

Luke didn't even think. He grabbed his wooden sword and charged at it.

"Luke!" exclaimed Tear, but he was too far into battle. Within half a minute, he had beaten the boar to death without giving it a chance to fight back.

"Luke," Tear said again, but her tone was different.

"Yeah, Tear?" Luke asked, feeling a bit smug.

"Never mind. I thought someone living in a manor all his life wouldn't be used to real battle." Tear crossed her arms, and tilted her head forward, admitting her error if body language was as clear as the Fonic tongue.

"Maybe I've just got the instincts for it," responded Luke. He sheathed his sword.

"I'll ask your servant how you perform in practice."

"Do you think I'm hiding something from you?" Luke asked, amused.

"I wouldn't say no right now," said Tear briskly, "We don't know each other, after all."

That comment, although technically true, still stung. Luke knew it was irrational, but he still felt hurt by Tear saying she didn't know him. Tear must have sensed his emotions, because she tried to reassure him.

"It's all right, Luke. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other on our way back to Baticul."

Her words reminded Luke of the incredibly long journey ahead of them.

"Right, of course," said Luke absently. It had been a long journey – he only hoped he had the patience to build up his old relationships without getting frustrated.

The two fought their way through to the mouth of the valley.

"Well, how are we going to get out of here?" wondered Luke. Well, not really _wondering _wondering, but it was an obvious question.

"We'll hopefully find a caravan or something of the sort."

"Ah."

At the bottom of the valley, there was the same man there, just as Luke remembered.

"Sir?" called Tear to him, "Is it possible that you could give my companion and me a ride to the capital?"

At her voice, the caravaner jumped in surprise. Upon seeing two travelers instead of bandits, he relaxed. The man was suspicious, in that shrewd miserly way. "It'll cost ya."

Luke tried the rich kid approach. "My father can easily pay you when we get there."

The man shook his head. "No good. How do I know you're not trying to get a free ride, huh?"

Luke checked his pockets but he saw with frustration he had only change. Why couldn't he have brought some money?!

"Well, how much are you asking?" Tear asked.

"Twenty-four thousand."

"Twenty-four thousand?! I could hire a company five times over for less!" Luke huffed. It was the same amount as last time, but still! Even the Dark Wings weren't so expensive!

"Take it or leave it," the man sniffed. Tear grabbed her pendant.

"Is this worth the trip?"

Luke recognized it, and instantly felt awful. He knew she would be giving it up for a trip that would take them in the opposite direction of Baticul and he had set it up on purpose.

"Tear, no, don't - " He tried to push the pendant back, but the man grabbed it.

"It'll do. Hop aboard, kids!"

"No, we'll walk!" Luke growled, "We don't have the money!"

"And this pendant'll be fine!" the man argued.

"Give it back, we'll walk!"

"Luke, calm down," Tear tried to assure him, "It's okay - "

"No, it's not!" snapped Luke.

The man sighed and held a hand to his forehead.

"Look, kid, it's cute how you want to keep it, but the deal's done. It'll be a fast journey and you'll appreciate it in the end. Come on." He turned around, waving for them to follow and Tear did.

"But!" Luke started to protest again.

"Come on, Luke," sighed Tear, "It's really alright."

"I'll buy it back for you," vowed Luke, "I promise." Tear was startled, and turned around before Luke could see her blush.

* * *

"Rotelro Bridge!" roared the caravaner happily, "Longest bridge in the world!" 

Luke frowned. _What if Tear recognizes it as Malkuth territory?_ But she didn't, merely sitting there and enjoying the view. He prayed for the Dark Wings to come soon and blow up the bridge, otherwise he'd have no viable excuse not to cross it when Tear found out they were in Malkuth and not Kimlasca.

Luke was actually muttering prayers under his breath until he saw the Dark Wings' carriage approach. The tension released from his body like air out of a pricked balloon. He flopped back with a sigh of relief.

"What is it?" Tear asked.

Before Luke could make something up, a great booming voice commanded the caravaner to move under risk of being destroyed.

The Tartarus flew past them and like before, ground to a halt when the Dark Wings blew up the Rotelro Bridge.

The caravaner laughed proudly. "That's the Tartarus, you know! The military's landship! Malkuth's newest model – it's being taken for a test run right now!"

Tear frowned. "Malkuth?"

"Yeah. The army usually doesn't come out this far, but with Kimlasca threatening to invade, extra defenses have been put up."

"We're in Malkuth?" repeated Tear.

"Didn't you know?" Then the man started getting wary. "Are you guys from Kimlasca?"

"N-no, but we were on our way to Baticul for business. We got lost – I guess we strayed back into Malkuth territory," Tear quickly improvised.

"I see. Well, I guess you're outta luck. Baticul's back across the bridge."

"The one that was just blown up?" inquired Luke.

"That's the one," confirmed the man, "To get to Kimlasca, you'll need to go south to Kaitzur and get a ship."

"I see," said Tear. Her voice was strained.

"There's a stop at Engeve where you can head south. It's a nice, peaceful place; you might want to rest there anyway."

Luke and Tear exchanged glances.

"We'll do that," said Tear.

"Alright. Engeve should be coming up in a few hours. Unless you want to walk."

"We'll stay with you, thanks," quickly replied Luke.

"Sit tight, then."

* * *

"Here's Engeve," announced the caravaner, "Off we get." 

"Thanks for the ride," Luke offered, stepping off the caravan. Tear echoed him.

"Sorry about the mix-up," apologized the man, and he kept to the north. The two watched him go.

"Where do you think he'll end up? Grand Chokmah? Chesedonia?" Luke asked.

"Those sound reasonable... Why?"

"I was actually thinking about your pendant, and where I could find him again."

Tear was exasperated.

"Oh, Luke. It's fine."

"But we're not even on the right continent, and..," Luke trailed off. Tear picked up on his guilty feelings.

"Did – did you truly know Tataroo Valley was in Malkuth?!"

Miserably, Luke nodded.

"Why would you lie?!" Tear exclaimed. Her eyes were filled with fury, rightfully so.

Luke tried to avoid her glare.

"W-well, I don't get out of the manor much – not at all, actually – so I thought we'd go by a longer route. Extend my time of freedom and all." He tried to meet Tear's eyes after his confession. "I didn't mean for the trip to cost your necklace. It was a pointless journey and..." Luke sighed. "I'm sorry, Tear."

Tear was still irritated. "Our journey has been lengthened considerably for a young noble's _curiosity_. We'll make do. Now come on."

Luke hung his head and followed. _Man, she could have at least sympathized a little_, he grumbled to himself.

He brightened a little when they entered the hamlet. This was where he'd first met Anise, Ion and Jade... Although meeting the latter hadn't exactly been pleasant.

Tear went directly for the inn, but there was an angry crowd hovering around.

"It doesn't look like we're going to get a room right now," said Luke.

"No," agreed Tear, "let's go have a look around the village while we wait."

So they wandered. As they slowly meandered between the fields and small homes, Luke found himself enjoying the peace of the moment. It was so different than things were at Eldrant. He never realized how much the stress of his fonon separation and Van's plan to replace the world had worn away at every aspect of him: his body, mind and maybe even his soul, too. Now, though, there was no real tension. Luke was on an important mission, sent by Lorelei himself, but he let himself relax.

"It's nice here," said Luke softly. Tear 'hmm'ed in response, but didn't voice anything. Perhaps she, too, was caught in the relaxed activity around her.

Eventually they came full circle around the town and in the small market. Luke spotted a crate full of apples. He grinned, and politely tossed all of the loose change he had to the vendor and took two apples. He handed one to Tear and gustily took a bite of his own. Tear smiled and decided not to reprimand him for using money they might need in the future. Luke blushed and turned away slightly.

"Uh, sir?" the grocer interrupted, "You paid a little too much."

"Really?" Luke asked as he tried to keep his blush down.

"Yep. You're about fifteen gald over."

"We might need it for the inn," considered Tear, "I'll take it."

The man smiled and handed the gald over. "A pleasure, ma'am."

"By the way," asked Luke, "what's with all the people by the inn? They look pretty angry."

"Ah, well, now," the grocer said glumly, "There's a food thief been going around. Just about cleaned out the inn's storehouse."

"Oh. That's awful," murmured Tear.

"Where's your mayor's house?" asked Luke.

The man scratched his chin. "That'll be Rose. She lives right there." He pointed to the nearby house.

"Thanks," said Luke, "Come on, Tear."

"Luke?" inquired Tear. Luke smiled.

"Since we have some time, we can at least see if we can help with this thief."

"That's – that's very thoughtful of you, Luke," said Tear.

Luke smiled at the compliment, but he had an ulterior motive. This motive made itself clear as soon as the door was opened.

A good-naturedly worn woman and a tall man in a blue military jacket turned around.

"May we help you?" the man said pleasantly.

"W-we heard about the thief," said Luke, a little off balance at the sight of Jade.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Tear asked.

Jade sighed. "Not unless you can pull a suspect from thin air."

"I think I might be able to do that," announced a voice from behind them. Luke jumped. He hadn't heard the door open. (In reality, he had forgotten to close it behind Tear and him.)

"Fon Master Ion," said Jade dryly, "Is this another plot to impress the civilians?"

Ion, for that's who it was, smiled. "Of course not, Colonel." He held out his hand, revealing a chunk of fur.

"This is cheagle fur," said Ion, "I found it in the storehouse."

"Cheagles..," whispered Tear thoughtfully. Luke tried to catch Tear's eye, but Rose spoke.

"How about we introduce ourselves before we go any further? I'm Rose, the mayor of this village."

Jade politely tilted his head. "I am Colonel Jade Curtiss, commander of the Third Division Malkuth Imperial Forces."

"I am Fon Master Ion of the Order of Lorelei," said Ion, "A pleasure to meet you."

Between them, Luke didn't know who to stare at. Both were close companions; Jade was the man with the most authority that Luke actually heeded, but Ion had been _dead_.

"Tear Grants, Locrian Sergeant of the Third Division, Oracle Knights."

"From the Order of Lorelei," murmured Ion, but it hardly needed to be said.

"And I'm Luke f - er, just Luke." He stumbled over his name when Tear shot him a sharp glance.

"Just Luke?" Jade asked slyly. That same irritating tone got to Luke with the same effectiveness as ever.

"Just Curtiss?" shot back Luke. Jade didn't let anything show, as usual, but Luke knew he was a little bit surprised.

"Well, young Luke," said Jade, beaming, "It seems we have some mysteries to share." Luke flushed at the slight give-away.

"N - not really," he said evasively. Inside Luke was shuddering at that sadistic grin of his. _He'll pull everything I know out of me and have that evil grin on his face the whole time!_

Tear used self-restraint to keep from interrogating Luke herself and excused them.

"Well, it seems you've found an answer, so we'll see if we can get a room now. Perhaps we'll meet again," offered Tear before dragging Luke out of Rose's home.

Once they were by the inn, Tear released Luke's jacket.

"What was that about?" complained Luke, "We could've stayed and gotten more information!" To himself, Luke longingly thought of Ion and Jade. To see them again was staggering...

"I'm going to ignore all of the things you've screwed up on hiding and ask what you were trying to get my attention about earlier," Tear said testily. Luke realized how irritated she actually was.

"Don't miss a thing, do you?" muttered Luke. "Well, I was looking at you when Ion – uh, the Fon Master, said it was cheagles. I was thinking we could go to the Cheagle Woods to see what's up!" Luke grinned. He knew he would get his way in this. He didn't admit it to himself, but Mieu had actually been kind of useful. And Ion could get in major trouble if he and Tear weren't there to help him, too.

Tear groaned. "We don't have time for that!"

"Why not?" argued Luke, "I've read a bit about cheagles. They wouldn't steal from humans for no reason."

"Sorry, but this trip is not about satisfying all the curiosities of a teenage aristocrat," said Tear coldly.

"This isn't a curiosity, it's the right thing to do!" said Luke hotly, "The two of us are capable of investigating it. It probably won't take that long anyway." Tear didn't respond at first. She looked over the rooftops into the horizon, thinking.

"Tomorrow," she said finally.

"Great!" exclaimed Luke, "Come on, let's go to the inn!" He ran off, leaving Tear blinking in his dust.

"Enthusiastic thing," she sighed and walked after him. She found that Luke was waiting for her impatiently. The boy immediately turned around to the innkeeper.

"See? I told you! She's holding all the money!"

Tear opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off.

"Hey, hey, have you guys seen Ion?"

"Ion, the Fon Master Ion?" asked Luke. _Anise! _He crowed to himself, _Now I've seen everybody! Well, except Asch._ The young girl's natural enthusiasm rubbed off on him.

"That's the one!" exclaimed the girl. Tear didn't recognize her.

"He's at Rose's place," said Tear, "but before you run off - !" That's what the girl was in the middle of doing. " - Why don't you introduce yourself? I'm Tear and this is Luke." Tear gestured to herself and the redhead accordingly.

The girl proudly put her fist on her chest. "Ionian Sergeant Anise Tatlin Oracle Knights Fon Master Guardian!"

"How about just Anise?" suggested Luke, "That's _way_ too long!"

"Alright. Luke, was it?" Anise said politely, "Nice to meet you, but I gotta go!"

"Looks like the Fon Master's business is official," commented Tear after Anise took off.

"Weird, though," said Luke, "Before me and Master Van started training in the courtyard, Master Van said he was going to look for Fon Master Ion; that he was missing."

This got Luke thinking. This could be a very good reason and justification for accusing Van in the future. Van going 'looking for Ion' at the same time that the God-Generals start trying to cause war would be suspicion enough to keep Van out of the trusted books of the people who mattered. Having the beginnings of a plan buoyed Luke's feelings about this whole mission.

Tear frowned. "That's odd."

"No kidding," agreed Luke, "Maybe we'll meet up with them later. Either way, this'll be cleared up soon."

Are ya gonna pay, or what?" asked the innkeeper irritably.

"Of course," Tear responded politely, "Is one hundred enough?"

"There's a room for three. You can have it."

"Thanks," said Luke, and he took the key.

"The door closes at ten o'clock tonight," said the innkeeper, in a gruffly kind way. His irritableness seemed very short-lived.

"So, we've got a few hours to ourselves," said Tear, "Let's walk around some more."

"Alright."

* * *

They had no more money for food or anything, really, so they just walked around to see the sights. It was just as pleasant as it was that afternoon. Luke found he just couldn't get his mind off of the three people he had just re-met today. He kept getting caught in memories and staring in the direction of the sunset. He turned to look at Tear, and the golden light spilling on her face reminded him of his last moments in the other world. 

_Slowly, wearily, Luke picked up the great sword of Lorelei. The fierce sunset cast everything in a bright, golden glow without the aid of hyperresonance. In Luke's hands, the sword was pointed towards the ground. The boy – no, the man gazed longingly at his friends one last time. The blond Malkuthian noble, the soon-to-be first Fon Mistress, the heiress to the Kimlascan throne, the man who was a mix of scientist and soldier and the most important, Luke's most precious friend Tear. His insides were burning as he thought that he might not ever see them again, no matter what naïve promises they were all making right now._

_Tear was backing away the slowest, unable to take her eyes off of the man that she loved. All of them were grieved, some to the point of crying. Luke studiously looked away from the others and focused on his job, so that he wouldn't start weeping himself. He thrust the Key of Lorelei into the ground, and blue light immediately flooded him. This circle of light surrounded him, reminding him of a cage no matter what his noble purpose was. Tear stood transfixed, trying to push away her feelings of revulsion for the blue energy._

_"Tear!" shouted Guy, his voice trembling. His voice broke Tear's intense concentration. Bowing her head, Tear turned around and joined the others. Luke watched them go, feeling his throat close up. Tears spilled from his eyes, but they were already gone, they couldn't see..._

"Luke?"

Tear's voice pulled him from the memory. It was already months ago now... He squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears. Luke realized that he had really thought he was never going to see his friends again. How lonely he'd unknowingly been!

"What's wrong?" Tear asked, concerned for her traveling companion.

Luke squinted into the sunset.

"Just homesick," he lied. Luke ignored her attempts to make him look at her, and Tear drew back with an almost silent sigh.

"We might as well go back now," she said quietly.

"Yeah, sure." Luke discreetly wiped his eyes and followed her back to the inn.

* * *

"Come on, Tear," pleaded Luke, "We have to go faster!" 

"It's not urgent, so we don't need to expend the extra energy. If we need to fight, it's better to have more energy." Tear watched him for more signs of homesickness, but this morning, Luke had seemed bright. Chipper, even. Maybe it was just being away from his own bed...

Luke sighed. He had wanted to get there early to meet Ion, and maybe even stop him from using that Daathic arte.

"But it could be urgent!" Luke tried to convince Tear to go a bit faster.

"Luke, just calm down. There's little chance of the situation changing a great amount if the time difference was a half-hour. We're pushing a decent pace already."

Luke huffed and walked alongside Tear. Ion could be in serious trouble right now!

In the next couple hours, they approached the Cheagle Woods, identified by the giant tree rising well above the other foliage.

Luke ran in, looking for Ion. He was rewarded with the noise of a commotion up ahead.

"There's something going on!" he called to Tear, "Come on!" Tear closely followed behind him as they ran towards the noise, but they both stopped in their tracks as they watched a familiar young boy in white destroy monsters with a burst of light. Then he collapsed in front of them.

"That's Fon Master Ion!" gasped Tear. Luke had already started running towards Ion.

"Ion!" he cried, "Are you okay?" He helped Ion sit up, putting an arm around the boy's shoulders. The memory of Ion's death poked at Luke's conscience, but he ignored it.

"I'm perfectly alright," said Ion faintly, trying to breathe deeply.

"You shouldn't use fonic artes if it turns out like this," Luke scolded, "Look how weak you are!"

"It didn't look like he had a choice, Luke," observed Tear.

"Yeah, okay, but in the future, be careful, alright?" grumbled Luke. He helped Ion stand up.

"Thank you, Sir Luke." Ion smiled as he let go of Luke's hand.

"Ah, just Luke," said Luke nervously, "I'm no knight."

"Just a young teen with little sense of propriety and a tendency for trouble," said Tear. It was impossible for Luke to tell whether she was joking or not.

"Look at you!" exclaimed Luke, "I bet you're thirty-five or something from the way you act!"

"I'd rather be thirty-five than someone with no patience!"

Ion chuckled. (Luke swore it was a giggle.)

"You two are obviously good friends to joke around like that." Before either of them could deny this, Ion continued.

"I must wonder, though, why you are here."

Tear looked pointedly at Luke, clearly saying without words, 'it was _your_ idea'.

"Well, uh," Luke scratched the back of his head, "we wanted to see why the cheagles were stealing food. I mean, they don't usually do things like this to humans, so we thought maybe something was wrong..." Luke trailed off at Ion's curious expression.

"That's very interesting," Ion said, "I've come for the same purpose."

"Huh. Do you wanna come with us?" Luke asked, "You're still pretty weak from that Daathic arte."

"How generous of you!" exclaimed Ion, "I think I will."

Tear stared at Luke curiously. "How did you know it was a Daathic fonic arte?" Luke stared back, wondering what she meant, and then flushed darkly. Of course, he'd let something _else_ slip.

"Well, I told you I studied a lot, right? I recognized the fonic glyph, plus he's the Fon Master, so they're almost exclusive to him."

"You keep surprising me," said Tear ruefully, but she smiled.

"It's just my nature," Luke clucked at her playfully.

"Shall we go?" asked Ion.

"Yes, of course," agreed Tear.

"To the cheagles!" crowed Luke, "Let's go! Quick! Come on!"

Tear could only sigh, and followed him.

With Luke pushing their pace, they made it deep into the woods and in front of the giant tree in much less time than Tear would have thought. Any monsters that they encountered on the way were quickly taken care of; they were crushed into mincemeat.

"This must be it," surmised Ion, "Cheagles make their homes in such trees."

"Don't all cheagles live in the same place?" Luke asked, confused. It had seemed that way to him. There had always been a lot of cheagles in this tree and it seemed large enough to house them all, too.

"I don't think so. I imagine that this is a gathering place, not their living space."

"That makes sense," said Tear, "Let's go in."

They were immediately surrounded by dozens of curious creatures, repeating the same sound over and over.

"Mieu..."

"Mieu mieu!"

"Mieuuuuuu mieu."

"Whoa...," grunted Luke.

"Mieu mieu. Mieu mieuuu mieu mieu!" An authoritative voice rang out through the tree. A path cleared between the humans and the back where the cheagle Luke knew as the Elder of the cheagles.

"Humans!" the Elder called, "Why have you come to our home?"

Ion stepped forward. "Cheagles have stolen food from the nearby village. We came to ask why."

The Elder remained silent.

"We're not here to punish you; we're here to help," Luke offered.

"I see..," said the Elder. He gathered himself to explain. "We are not natural scavengers; we wouldn't steal food unless our existence depended on it. One of our young accidentally set fire to the forest in the north where the ligers live. Starving, they came here and demanded that we bring them food, otherwise they would eat us. We eventually ran out of food of their kind that could be found naturally in the forest and had to go looking elsewhere. Your village has an abundance of food."

"That's quite a story," said Tear.

"Have the northern forests grown back at all?" Luke asked.

"Not enough for them to return," said the Elder gravely.

"We must go speak to the ligers," stated Ion, "The problem will only grow from here."

"You will need a translator. Wait a moment, please." The Elder called a smaller blue cheagle from the crowd and began speaking with it in their native tongue. Luke felt his eye twitch as an automatic response. _I hope he's not as annoying as he was before. Aw, who am I kidding? I'll probably be the death of him in a few days._

The young blue cheagle jumped out and pulled on the Sorcerer's Ring, after a few tries. The three humans bent over him.

"Hello!" the cheagle exclaimed, "It's nice to meet you!"

Luke grimaced – just as annoying as before.

"What's your name?" the blue animal chirped.

"I'm Tear," said Tear, pointing to herself, "This is Luke and this is Fon Master Ion."

"Nice to meet you," greeted Ion.

"Hello," said Luke grudgingly.

"I'm Mieu!" exclaimed the young cheagle.

"Can you do anything useful?" asked Luke.

"He's the translator," said Tear pointedly.

"Besides translating," groused Luke.

"I can spit fire," said Mieu, "but only with the Sorcerer's Ring."

"The Sorcerer's Ring?" said Ion thoughtfully, "Isn't that the pact with Yulia?"

"Yeah," said Luke. He motioned that they should hurry up. He couldn't explain it, but he felt that their business in Cheagle Woods should be finished as quickly as possible.

"How can you be sure, Luke?" asked Tear.

"I dunno," said Luke defensively, "It's just a hunch, okay?"

Tear gave him stern look, clearly not satisfied.

"Let's go," Luke mumbled, and walked out of the tree. Looking unsure, Tear followed; Ion trailed after, but not before remembering to pick up Mieu.

Luke led the way, knowing the way to the liger's home, but he did his best to look unsure. Hopefully the others would think it was instinctive or something. With Mieu's help (Luke made sure to be polite this time around, sneaking surreptitious glances at Tear every time), they made it to the liger's den very quickly.

* * *

"It's very cool in here," commented Ion. 

"Well, we _are_ underground," said Luke. They walked down and down, past the memory circle, into the Queen's chamber. The Queen Liger got up from her rest before they even entered.

"Mieu, ask her if it's possible for the ligers to move back to their natural home," said Tear quietly. Mieu nodded and stepped forward. He then started speaking his native tongue. The Queen cocked her head to the side as she listened, then roared something in her own liger speech. Frightened, Mieu stepped back.

"She says no, it isn't, and we should leave before she eats us!" Mieu exclaimed.

"Tell her we're just trying to protect our people like she's protecting her children. Ask her if there's any way at all she can move her family back or find another temporary home," said Luke urgently.

Mieu obliged, shaking. The Queen listened intently, but growled softly.

"She says there's not. And we should still leave because her new babies will need food."

Luke was determined.

"Please. We don't want to come to fighting! We'll do what it takes to protect our own!"

Mieu translated this, but it didn't seem to go over well with the Queen. Mieu rapidly exclaimed that if there was to be a fight, so be it. The Queen lunged forward and pounced on Mieu.

Luke didn't even think. He drew his sword and slashed at the Queen. She abandoned Mieu to avoid the blade, but she stopped and glared at Luke. That look told Luke that he was now her next target.

Luke gulped and raised his sword. The liger queen roared and leaped at Luke. Luke parried her head with his sword and dodged her fang-filled mouth.

"Luke!" Tear shouted and ran forward. She swung her staff powerfully and bolts of energy flew out. They struck the queen on her flank; she just shook the minimal pain off and continued assaulting Luke.

Luke was dodging admirably well, but there was still speed the large liger was holding back. Soon, Luke would've be able to avoid as quickly; he could feel it. He lunged in as often as he could to attack the queen's head and he and the queen battled in a locked little struggle.

Tear took this opportunity to attack. She jumped into the air and threw two knives; one at the ligers hind flank and the other at her muzzle. That second knife struck her right in the jaw, ripping flesh right out. The queen mother whirled around to attack Tear. Unfortunately for Tear, Luke was on the other side of the liger and couldn't get around.

Tear flung herself to the ground, but she still felt two claws graze her back. She didn't flinch. Luke himself jumped over Tear to attack the queen again. Tear stood up and cast Nightmare. Her song made the liger shudder but otherwise there was no effect.

"We're not hurting it, Luke!" Tear cried in frustration.

"I know!" yelled Luke in the same tone as her. The worse thing was, Luke still had his wooden training sword. He'd forgotten to replace it in Engeve because he was in such a rush to get here. He wished he had a real blade handy.

But before the battle could continue, there was an explosion. The liger queen roared in pain, its voice so high, it was almost shrieking. In the entrance of the cave mouth was Colonel Jade Curtiss.

After Jade came in, the battle was laughably easy. Tear couldn't help commenting out loud about the Colonel's strength to Luke, who could only agree.

Jade cast his Explosion arte only a few times, with Tear and Luke protecting him from the queen, who was viciously trying to get to Jade when she realized where the damage was coming from. The liger queen refused to give up, even at the lulls in the battle when it was clear who was winning. Eventually, the Liger Queen collapsed, her limbs sprawled to the side.

Luke sighed, feeling a bit sad. The Liger Queen (never even mind the broken eggs) didn't have to die, but unable to deny her motherly instincts, there was no choice. And then there was Arietta... He shook his head; it was too late for anything but regrets. It was unfortunate having Arietta pitted against them from the start, but Luke really didn't see how it could have been done differently. If only the liger wasn't a liger...

"Luke, pay attention!" called Tear with no ire in her voice.

The redhead jerked his head up. "R-right, of course!" He trotted over to join the large group of Tear, Jade, Ion, Anise and Mieu.

"Anise?" questioned Luke when he joined the circle, "When did you get here?"

The girl grinned. "Just a minute ago – you were busy staring at the monster."

"The Liger Queen," corrected Luke sternly before he even knew what he was doing. _I wonder if we can at least raise a monument, so Arietta knows we respected her mother._

Jade and Tear both gave Luke bemused looks for a moment before delving back into their previous conversation.

"Anyways, Anise, can you do something for me?" Jade asked of the Fon Master Guardian pleasantly. As Anise bounced over to the Colonel, Luke remembered what had happened when they left the Cheagle Woods and scowled. _And Jade arrests us for trespassing. Honestly._

"What's the matter, Luke?" Ion asked.

"Uh, nothing," said Luke, replacing the scowl with a weak smile, "I just kind of realized that we have to report to the Elder Cheagle. Nothing against him, but I hate reporting." Tear didn't know whether to take him seriously or not, and so remained silent with a gentle sigh.

Anise spoke up with a cheerful, "Can do, Colonel!" and left the hollow. Jade turned back to the group, absently smoothing the front of his uniform.

"Well," he said matter-of-factly, "Are we ready to leave?" Luke imagined the older man's eyes hovering on him for a few seconds longer than the others.

"Not quite," answered Tear, "There's still the matter of meeting with the leader of the Cheagles again, to let them know the threat of the ligers is gone." Jade nodded and immediately turned and started walking, with Ion automatically following at his heels.

"Wait," said Luke. He was now quite set on having this memorial to the Queen built. "We should bury the Liger Queen."

Jade stopped and turned halfway, not quite facing Luke. "Whatever for, Luke? It's just a monster."

Luke glared at him. "She was the Queen of the ligers, and she was a mother. Monster or not, it was still a life." He searched for Tear's eyes to see if she would support him.

Ion backed him up first, unsurprisingly.

"I think we should, Colonel Curtiss."

Jade sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Please, just call me Jade."

"Alright. But we're going to pay our respects, right?" Ion asked persistently. Jade contemplated Ion and Luke quietly, Tear who didn't take a side, and even the unusually quiet Mieu, before he turned his back.

"Make it quick."

Ion and Luke got together, and Tear joined them reluctantly.

"We're never going to be able to dig a big enough hole for her," said Luke thoughtfully, "Maybe we could just surround the body with those rocks."

"That sounds simple enough," said Tear practically, "Are you feeling up to it, Fon Master?"

Ion looked a bit startled to be asked this.

"Of course, Tear. And please, I prefer to be called Ion. Fon Master is too formal for these situations." Tear nodded uncertainly, as she had ceremony and formality enforced in her life from very young.

"Very well, Ion."

The three quickly started dragging rocks from the side to surround the queen. Jade quietly watched them from his spot in the entrance. With his head slightly tilted to the side, it was easy to imagine the thoughts rippling through his mind. The three young people had covered the upper half of the queen before the soldier himself walked over. He said nothing, but he used a weak version of the arte, Stalagmite, with precision to bring rock and earth to surround and encase the body of the Liger Queen. With one final shudder, a large flat stone was raised to the front of the mound.

"Any words?" Jade asked, sounding very reserved, "I'm confident I can do a better job than any of you with a rock."

None of them rose to Jade's bait; none of them were particularly offended, either. There was a thoughtful silence as they considered words, but neither Tear or Ion spoke. Instead, they observed Luke to hear what he had to say. It was his idea, after all.

Luke absently scratched his forehead while he thought. He went for simple words of respect.

"Queen Mother of the Ligers. Her death was too soon. Children and friends, forgive us." Jade dutifully carved the words in with an arte Luke had never seen before. He supposed it was because it was too weak to be used in battle. In any case, the three lines were engraved in the headstone for good.

When Jade finished, he turned to the group.

"Last business with the Elder Cheagle? Let's go."

Even if there was something else that needed to be done, nobody would have the resolve to mention it to Jade now, Luke thought ruefully. The man was on one of his unstoppable tangents.

Tear led the way this time, with Mieu acting as an aide when her memory failed. Luke stayed behind in the very back, wanting to watch everyone. The fact that no one had argued him being the rearguard spoke volumes of their trust in his ability. This journey was so different already, and relatively nothing had happened yet.

His eyes traveled from Tear, to Ion, to Jade. As much as he would have preferred to keep watching Tear, Luke really needed to think about what to do about Jade. It was very possible, likely, even, that Jade was going to find out about Luke's dimension hopping. The most he could hope was that Jade was going to be very discreet about it, and maybe... be more of a friend. (For Yulia's sake, he needed courage to even _think_ those words!)

The walk back to the Cheagle Tree was quiet, as nobody could keep a conversation going. Luke concentrated only on various situations with Jade figuring things out. The scenes when Jade announced his findings in his frantic thoughts varied from audiences in front of the leaders in Yulia City, to crowds of people in Baticul, and to the private conversations held when everyone else was 'out'. Those last scenes made Luke shudder; a one-on-one with Jade was a _scary_ thought.

Even though Luke wasn't paying any attention to it, there was some quiet subtleties taking place in front of him. While Mieu was completely incapable of subtlety, the others had a very indirect byplay going on, mostly to do with Tear and Jade. The two soldiers seemed to be trying to decide who was the leader here – Tear was doing an alright job at leading them through the forest, but Jade kept moving ahead at the same even pace. One wouldn't be surprised if they were told Jade had been here many times before, because that's how expertly he was navigating. But Tear wanted to lead.

Ion, who was paying close attention to all of this, thought that Tear might have a better claim to being the leader if she didn't keep glancing back at Luke, oblivious man.

In due time and with a frustrated Tear, they arrived at the Cheagle Tree. Mieu handed the Sorcerer's Ring back to the Elder, and the Elder said everything they had been expecting (thank yous, praise, apologies) and some things only Luke was expecting, like Mieu being exiled and put under Luke's care for a year. If he was going to be perfectly honest, Luke wasn't paying much attention. This was just about the same as the last time, so Luke felt perfectly comfortable in zoning out. He instead moved on from his preparatory 'Jade's found out' scenarios to his preparatory 'Jade's arresting us' scenarios.

He couldn't see how getting arrested coming out of the woods would be much different from the first time, so Luke got rather bored with that train of thought. The only thing he could do anything about was his reaction to it. He decided to be mature and thoughtful; that'd throw Jade off, the sadist basketcase.

Luke was jerked out of his faraway thoughts when Mieu flung himself at Luke in happiness at being his vassal.

"Master!" the cheagle squealed ecstatically. Luke sighed, very quietly, and reached down to pat Mieu's head. He might as well make the effort here, too, right?

"Well, work hard, Mieu." Luke picked up Mieu and put him on his shoulder, eyeing him seriously. The cheagle gave him an awed look, and stayed quiet, listening to the humans talk. Mieu gently held onto Luke's hair to keep stable on top of him. Luke felt guilty at ignoring Mieu so far, especially considering the last things he'd said to him when he freed Lorelei at Eldrant. _"You did a good job." Well, I guess he did._

At the sight of Luke and Mieu, Tear had to turn away to cover her blush. It was too cute!

"Is that everything?" Jade asked, interrupting the moment.

"Yeah," said Luke, "Let's go, everyone."

With a wave to the cheagles, they left. Once they left the tree, Mieu decided he wanted to climb on top of everyone's shoulders, just to see if it was different. Tear and Ion gladly let him hop around their heads, but Jade respectfully declined. "I'm too tall, you might be grabbed and eaten by a wild hawk," was his excuse.

With this entertainment, they made it to the entrance of Cheagle Woods quickly. When they arrived, Anise ran up to the Colonel.

"Colonel! What took you so long?" she asked impatiently.

"I'm sorry, Anise. There was some unexpected business that needed to be taken care of," Jade said, "Now, about what I sent you for..."

Anise perked up. "I got the soldiers as fast as I could, just like you said!"

"Very good," said Jade approvingly. He raised his voice to the unseen soldiers. "Surround these two!" he commanded his platoon.

As Malkuthian soldiers surrounded them, Tear glanced at Jade apprehensively.

"Jade?" she asked, sounding slightly nervous, "What is this?"

"Yeah, Jade, what is this?" echoed Luke calmly. He was feeling serene, and the people near to him could hear his lack of fear.

"You and Tear are being arrested for crimes against Malkuth." Jade's face was unreadable, his eyes flicking between Tear and Luke.

"What crimes?" asked Tear, bewildered and starting to get angry.

"You have used hyperresonance to enter the country illegally, never mind passports. I don't think it was a show of Kimlascan hostility, but come with us until we get this straightened out."

Luke motioned to Tear that they should just go with it, and he turned to Jade.

"Then let's go."

Under escort, Luke and Tear followed Jade and Anise to the Tartarus.


	4. Priorities

_**Title: Promethes Mneme by apakoha**_

**Author's Note: **Shout-out to all my awesome reviewers! I kept getting all teary-eyed while reading them, so you now know that writing your thoughts is valuable to me. If you had a question, I might have posted an answer on my profile if you haven't received one personally. Advance thanks to my beta, eagle711, for his help in making this more worthy for public eyes!

* * *

There was a delay of around forty-five minutes on the Tartarus while everyone got settled and things got straightened out. In their assigned room, Luke and Tear waited patiently for Jade to finish up and come to meet with them. Being guests, Ion and Anise had no such duties aboard the landship and opted to wait with Luke and Tear. With their combined intellect, the two older teenagers managed to get the two younger talking more than they did themselves. (It wasn't anything mean, but both Luke and Tear felt defensive.) This pleasant chat left Luke feeling buoyant, as it was so reminiscent of the times in his original world – times around the evening campfire and just chatting. 

But eventually Jade was finished with his duties, and arrived at the door, looking very neat and not rushed. His face was unusually serious, but not stern. It was an open one, one appreciated by his guests (read: arrestees).

"So, what can we do for you, Jade?" asked Luke, matching Jade's expression. Cool and calm, that was the way to go.

"First off, your full name would be nice," said Jade, not missing a beat. Luke hesitated for a split second before firmly stating, "Luke fon Fabre."

"Of the Kimlascan nobility, tertiary heir to the throne?" Jade questioned, more closely.

"Yes," said Luke, mouth twisting at these type of questions. All this stuff about inheriting the throne... Luke didn't like the implications of needing to take the throne in case something dire happened.

"How did you and Tear find yourselves into Malkuth territory?" Jade continued.

"Hyperresonance," stated Tear, "It was completely accidental and it was not an act of aggression."

"Unexpected?" asked Jade, "How so?" He took a seat opposite Luke, eyes focused closely on Tear.

"I am a Melodist, which uses the Seventh Fonon. As I was in Fabre Manor, I encountered the son of House Fabre. At the time, I had no idea that Luke was also a Seventh Fonist and we accidentally caused a hyperresonance - "

"Not a full one," interjected Luke, "I know what a hyperresonance does. What we did was, like, half of a hyperresonance." Tear was starting to get used to Luke's random, but useful, bits of knowledge.

" - But nevertheless, a hyperresonance," continued Tear, smiling slightly, "This hyperresonance sent us to Tataroo Valley."

"We may have been attracted by the fon slot there," mused Luke, thinking aloud. It was a Sephiroth after all – but then, it wasn't the closest to Baticul. The theory required more work.

"Yes, perhaps," said Tear, nodding, "From there, Luke and I traveled the Rotelro Bridge."

"Why?" said Jade suspiciously, "Baticul, and thus the Fabre Manor, are on the side of Tataroo Valley."

Luke shifted uncomfortably. He opened his mouth to tell Jade he had extended the journey purposefully and for no real reason, and take the ensuing abuse, but Tear covered for him.

"We were mistaken," she said smoothly, but there was a hint of a blush in her cheeks, "We didn't know whether Tataroo Valley was in Malkuth or Kimlasca. Unfortunately, we guessed wrong and a caravan started taking us to Grand Chokmah."

It was a story filled with holes, like why hadn't the caravaner told them they were in Malkuth in the first place, but Jade accepted the story after a minute. Luke immediately shot Tear a grateful look, which didn't go unnoticed by her or Jade.

Jade let his eyes travel along the ceiling slowly, considering ways they could be enemies of Malkuth. Luke had a suspicion that Jade had already gotten all of the information he needed, and was about to pursue an unnecessary line of questioning.

"Tear, you mentioned you met Luke in his manor." Jade's eyes glittered oddly. Luke recognized that look from whenever he was dealing with a losing Dist. "Why were you there? A low-ranking member of the Order must have an extraordinary reason for visiting a Duke."

Tear opened and closed her mouth, before choosing to not say anything. There was definitely a blush on her face now. Luke studied her embarrassed features before glaring at Jade.

"That's none of your business," Luke said shortly, "It's not necessary in your investigation. We weren't plotting against your Emperor, okay?" His voice had risen to almost a yell. He wasn't angry, exactly, but this was right up Jade's alley of sadism. Or alley of embarrassment – they seemed to be the same thing in Jade's mind.

"Why so defensive?" asked Jade coolly. Luke glared at the older man.

"Like I said, none of your business."

"Colonel," said Ion uncertainly from the corner bed, glancing between Jade and Luke, "I think you had better leave it be."

Luke hadn't even heard Ion, he was too absorbed in frowning at Jade. Jade's demeanor flickered at Ion's words, and then he settled back into his chair. Beside Luke, Tear seemed to be thinking hard about something. She mouthed a few things silently as if testing how they would sound out loud.

"But, Colonel Jade," she said slowly, almost to herself, "Why have we been arrested in the first place? Not to say illegally crossing the border isn't wrong, but have relations between Kimlasca and Malkuth deteriorated that much?"

"Yes," said Jade. "All that the coming war needs is a catalyst to set it off." He sounded reluctant, and as close to unsettled as Jade ever got.

"You sound..." Luke tried to find a word to describe Jade's closed feelings, but gave up. "You sound like you don't want a war; I suppose not many do. So why is Ion, and his official guard, traveling with you when he was declared missing?"

"You've landed right on the issue," said Jade, hiding his relief that the boy in front of him wasn't a dunce. The soldier gestured to Ion. Luke blinked when he saw Ion and Anise both sitting sedately on the bed in the corner. With their seemingly abnormal quiet, he had completely forgotten they were there. They didn't look like they minded, though. To the contrary, both youths looked very interested in the conversation that was taking place. Ion took his cue perfectly.

"I was missing, actually," said Ion, "Mohs had taken me, and Colonel Jade rescued me. I'm accompanying him to Baticul as a neutral ambassador so that I may present King Ingobert the Sixth with a letter of peace from Emperor Peony the Ninth."

"An emissary of peace," murmured Tear, "You're trying to prevent this war."

"I hope you're not too late," said Luke feelingly. At these words, Ion's eyes immediately sought Luke's. They locked gazes for a moment.

"Ion?" said Anise curiously, "What is it?" She glanced at Luke herself, no doubt wondering why her charge was staring so intently at him.

"Luke," said Ion thoughtfully, "You said you are the tertiary heir to the throne?"

"Yes," answered Luke.

"The nephew of King Ingobert?"

"Yes," said Luke, knowing where Ion was going with this. Jade figured it out, as well.

"Fon Master?" said Jade, pleasantly enough, "You wish to ask for Luke's help?"

"I think it would be both prudent and useful," said Ion, smiling. Anise noticed the smile and really looked at Luke carefully.

"Heir to the throne, huh?" she muttered to herself, grinning wickedly. Luke saw this and narrowed his eyes pointedly. _No_, he mouthed. Anise pouted playfully and winked at him. Luke grinned back.

"So, Luke? How about it?" requested Jade, "Would you lend us your name and title for this?"

"Of course," said Luke, very firmly, "It's my duty to my uncle." His own words halted him in his mental steps. Talking about duty? He had changed more than he thought! Maybe that was a bit of Asch left over. He remembered this interrogation the first time and wished he could throw a book or something equally heavy at his former self's head. (Although once he got past his own arrogance, Jade's fake bowing to him and remark on his own pride were sort of funny.)

Jade nodded at Luke's agreement, as though he hadn't expected anything differently.

"Very well," he said, "Any other concerns?"

"I have one," said Tear. She turned to Ion. "Fon Master, if you are both of the Order right now, why did Grand Maestro Mohs _kidnap_ you?"

Ion bowed his head sadly. "Ah, well, things are divided in the Order right now, though not quite as badly as Malkuth and Kimlasca are now."

Anise jumped into the explanation angrily. "People are questioning whether to follow the Fon Master or Mohs. It's always been the Fon Master, always! But Mohs is trying to take over Ion's authority! It makes me mad!" She huffed furiously and sat back down beside Ion.

"In a nutshell, yes," said Ion softly, nodding, "I sometimes question my own authority within the Order."

"You should be more assertive," suggested Luke helpfully.

Ion chuckled quietly. "I fear it's too late for that. In any case, the two factions are clear and I can't tell you any more than that. It's confidential to the Order."

When it was clear that Ion was finished, everyone looked to Jade. This simple gesture explicitly foreshadowed the authority Jade would command in the future. Even as he was now, Luke still couldn't understand what made people _want_ to follow him. There was something, obviously, because if one looked at a written summary of his personality, very few would think of following him without fear. (The fear often resulted anyway.) In the original world, Luke and Guy had actually thought it might be a special fonic arte that Jade applied, but that theory died quickly. But there was a natural charisma about the man, something close to fatherly, that made people look at him like he could honestly do anything.

Jade sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Now that you two have joined our little group of emissaries, there's not a lot we can keep hidden from you now. The only places I can appropriately protect are the bridge and rooms with Malkuthian military secrets. Well, I could appropriately keep you here, but that wouldn't be fair, would it?" Jade's bland smile was a little on the 'I'm-about-to-torment-you' side.

"No, it wouldn't," laughed Ion, obviously amused with the Colonel, "because you let me go just about everywhere on this ship and Luke and I are almost equal in status."

Luke balked at Ion's statement. "No way, Ion! You rule a small country and I'm just the son of the duke -"

"Just the son of a duke," muttered Tear, exasperated. Luke continued, pretending he hadn't heard her.

" - I don't do much. I just... hang out all day. You have a bunch of responsibilities and everything."

"So you don't want to freely walk the Tartarus?" said Jade curiously, "If that's what you wish - "

"Forget it," mumbled Luke, beaten, "Whatever."

"I'm going for some fresh air. Do what you will." With that, Jade turned and coolly left the room.

"He's cold, isn't he?" commented Tear.

"Yeah," agreed Anise, "but that's the Colonel. Do you want me to show you two around? I mean, if that's alright with you, Ion." She hastily tacked that bit on.

"Of course," said Ion, "I think I might join the Colonel on the deck." He and Anise exchanged smiles as a good-bye and then Ion, too, left the room.

"Well, then, off we go!" said Anise cheerfully. Luke watched the space where Jade had been. Even though he was colder than Luke remembered, Luke drew comfort from the unshakable presence of Jade. The memory of Jade calling Luke his friend still made Luke both proud and small. Proud to have a naturally cold person like Jade accept him as someone so close, and small for having such a powerful man seem to bend to accept Luke. A willing bend, but sometimes Luke would feel feelings of inferiority rise up within him. He wished someone knew that's how he was feeling, so they could help chase the feeling away, like Tear with her harsh methods often did. Luke suddenly knew what he wanted to do.

"Actually, Tear, Anise, you two go on ahead. I'm going to go talk to Jade." He stepped out of the door, pushing the door open so the girls could get out easily.

"Luke, wait!" called Anise, "Do you even know where they went?"

Luke popped his head back in. "They went left. I'll figure it out," he said confidently. He walked down the hall and up the stairs, hearing the muffled chatter of Tear and Anise behind him. It was a sure thing that Anise was grilling Tear for details in what was going on between them.

Luke opened the door to the deck, where he knew Jade and Ion were. They both turned around at the sound of the door, but neither looked quite surprised to see him. Jade turned around. At Ion's inviting smile, Luke trotted over to the boy first.

"What brings you out here?" Ion asked, clearly interested in Luke's answer. Luke shrugged.

"I guess I just wanted to talk a bit more," said Luke offhandedly, thinking of the politics behind Ion's appearance here in this time and place.

"Well, then, do you have any questions from before?" Ion inquired.

Luke thought a moment. "Well, maybe relating to the discussion, but nothing I'm going to repeat. I don't think I actually do have specific questions. How about you just tell me about the Order, then." He shrugged.

Ion was a bit puzzled. "Like what?"

"I dunno, like ranks or something."

Ion blinked, and then smiled confidently, probably because this was something he knew by heart.

"First, there is me, the Fon Master. Well, supposing there weren't leadership issues, you understand. Then there is the Grand Maestro, which is held by Mohs. After, there is the Commandant, whom you might know by the title of Dorian General Grants. Then there are the God-Generals."

"The six, right? Asch the Bloody, Legretta the Quick, Sync the Tempest, et cetera, right?" asked Luke to confirm. Ion hesitated.

"Well, technically, no, there are seven. The seventh is a woman named Cantabile."

Luke was dumbstruck. That had come completely out of nowhere! Was this a result of his meddling? It must be, because Luke had never heard anything of a seventh God-General, ever.

"Uh, did she just become one recently, like in the last few months?" Luke asked. He was expecting Ion to be surprised at his knowledge and say yes, but that wasn't the case. Ion shook his head.

"No, she's quite established. Even though there are only six official posts for God-General, Cantabile was so talented that a seventh post was created specifically for her. She also happens to command the largest number of Oracle Knights."

Luke was currently having trouble keeping his heart rate within a healthy range because he was so totally floored by this. Another God-General could throw everything into jeopardy, as an unknown wildcard. Luke desperately wished he could go back into his original world to check if this seventh God-General existed there.

"D-does she hang around Daath a lot?" Luke asked, hoping he sounded just curious.

"No, very rarely," said Ion, "I haven't seen much of her myself, but I'm told any job that requires her to check in Daath regularly would be a waste of her talents. Why so interested?" Ion's head tilted to the side as if it would somehow allow Luke to be more transparent. Luke's breaths were almost sobs, he was so unsettled. It was a real struggle to try and sound normal.

"I've never heard of her before, ever."

Ion was either ignoring Luke's distress or wasn't noticing it. "That's not surprising. She mostly keeps out of the Order's politics. I hear Commandant Grants has trouble controlling her, sometimes."

Luke perked up slightly. That meant one of two things. Either she had a problem with authority or she didn't like Van. Luke hoped it was the latter, as it would be that much easier to get her on their side.

"Alright. I think I've got the God-Generals, then." Luke exhaled deeply, still feeling physically squeezed from the shock he'd just received.

"Very well," said Ion, "After the God-Generals, it much more resembles a regular military, with generals, lieutenants, you know. The only things different is that we have fewer of these ranks and we give them different names like maestro, or cantor. There's not much else." Ion looked at Luke expectantly, who shook his head. Luke kept taking regular breaths, telling himself with every exhalation that it was going to be okay. After a moment, the dimension-jumper let go of Cantabile. It was going to be okay, because Luke would make it so. She didn't show up the first time, so what were the chances of her showing up the second?

"No more questions," said Luke. He walked over to the edge, but still within speaking range of Ion. He leaned over the edge and studied the ground below them, his back to the entire platform. The Tartarus was pushing an amazingly fast speed, so Luke could never make out any details of the places below. The roar and sight of the Tartarus moving gave Luke's sense something to concentrate on while his thoughts meandered. He found letting his mind go on its own helped after a lot of stress.

"It's so strange," Luke said to Ion slowly, his eyes absently following the forest of the side of the Tartarus. "I never thought something like this would ever happen to me." He made sure his comment could be taken for his place in the political struggle but his situation was different. Time-traveling – no, crossing dimensions certainly fit into the category of 'this would never happen to me.' Though what Lorelei had said certainly implied that it couldn't be anyone other than Luke, though why Asch wasn't eligible was beyond Luke's ability to puzzle out.

"I'm sorry to have dragged you and Tear into this," said Ion apologetically, "And I'm also quite sorry to have to use you in this way."

Luke was still deep in his dimension-hopping thoughts, so his response was understandably disconnected from the conversation. "Hmm, right. Sure. Whatever."

"Luke?" If Ion wasn't confused before, he certainly was now. Luke tuned into the conversation.

"Huh? Oh, uh, Ion, that's all right. It gets me home faster, anyway."

"If you say so," said Ion, looking relieved. Luke smiled.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go talk to Jade. It was good talking to you." Luke nodded and walked over to Jade. The platform was large enough that if Luke and Ion had been speaking in moderate tones, Jade probably wouldn't have been able to hear them.

As it was when Luke approached, Jade was standing tall and seemed to be studying something in the distance very closely. Luke recognized as sign Jade was thinking about something – and likely didn't want to be interrupted. Luke did anyway. The younger man stood to the side of the solder, in Jade's line of sight.

"Jade?" said Luke tentatively. If Jade's body could make noises independently of any orifice, Luke imagined Jade's body to be creaking loudly in protest at having to turn to this unproven boy. Even with the symbolically loud motion, Jade was still only half-facing Luke.

"Yes?" said Jade, a weary sigh implied in his tone.

"I – I kinda just came to talk," mumbled Luke, very unsure of how to handle a face-to-face with this man. It had taken so long to be able to engage him in idle chatter, but Luke felt the desire for rapport with him _right now_. He was about to find out how successful he would be.

Jade peered at Luke over the top of his glasses. It was a foreign gesture to Luke, because usually the blue-clad man would give those intense looks _through_ his glasses as if to emphasize that Bad Things would happen if those glasses ever came off.

"To talk?" said Jade flatly. That stare over the glasses rims made Luke feel insignificant, at least in terms of Jade. He was confident in himself, mostly, and was fairly sure that Tear thought well of him, and Guy had never given up on him, and oh man, he was rambling...

"Well, I mean," Luke faltered, "...Yeah."

Jade broke his gaze after a few moments. "You'll have to forgive me. I'm terrible at small talk." Luke racked his mind for a topic he knew Jade could and would actually discuss.

"Well, it doesn't have to be small talk," said Luke stubbornly, "It could be like... philosophy."

"Oh?" Jade hemmed for a moment, and turned to Luke, almost cautiously. "What did you have in mind?"

"..." Luke considered Jade's face to make sure he was serious. "...Death."

Jade's eyebrows shot up for an instant before he smoothed his features.

"Death," he said disbelievingly, "Well, it can certainly be said that you shoot you for the big ones first. Very well, how to begin..."

"How do you view killing?" said Luke quickly. Jade covered a smile at Luke's impatience.

"It's hardly a matter for me," said Jade indifferently, "I'm a soldier. I kill for self-defense, I kill for my country, I kill to win. In this world, it's kill or be killed. I've chosen which one I want."

At Jade's calloused words, Luke's face grew steadily more thoughtful. "That's... not a very good philosophy. I mean, I used to have that idea, kill or be killed. You're going to call me idealistic, but I refuse to kill unless there is no other way."

"I agree with you in theory, but I am going to have to call you naïve if you honestly believe that it can be carried out in practice. How did you ever get to that idea from 'kill or be killed'?"

"...I killed too much," muttered Luke darkly. His thoughts could be summed in the names of two places: Akzeriuth and the Tower of Rem. If Jade said anything else after that, Luke would've been prevented from brooding on this, but Jade simply looked at Luke circumspectly for a few minutes. Luke's brooding wasn't very elegant. It went in the same circles it did at the time he committed the acts, and it was always smothered in guilt. _How many people did I kill in all? Fifteen thousand? Twenty thousand? _

"Ignoring the assumption that a teenage noble locked in their house usually doesn't kill, much less achieve that much remorse - which should remind you to guard your experiences more carefully." Jade was almost monotone, which meant that he was only hiding his true feelings, thought Luke. He cursed inwardly. How many times was he going to screw up before Jade figured out everything? Come to think of it, what was the major reason for hiding his travel anyway?

"Hey, Jade?" Luke asked reluctantly, "If a person knew things that nobody could know, what would be the worst thing that could happen to them?"

Jade didn't hesitate at all. "They'd be handed over to the Order of Lorelei, and be tortured until everything was known and the source destroyed, and then that person would be killed, with no one questioning the Order's actions."

"Ah," said Luke, feeling sick. That was a plenty good enough reason to keep it hidden. If the Order of Lorelei said so, no one would object to them kidnapping him and killing him. They would automatically assume that it was part of the Closed Score, and life would continue, with the Order continuing its regime and never, ever being 'wrong'. It was realizations such as this that made Luke realize that more needed to be done; more than undermining the Score, the entire society needed to be rewritten to get this corruption out of the way. Everyday, this job was getting bigger than Luke thought he could handle. He squeezed the bridge of his nose in vexation.

"Is there something wrong?" said Jade, clearly not very concerned. Luke hissed quietly, questioning his own decision to come and talk to Jade. It had only made him feel worse.

"No," he said, gritting his teeth slightly, "I'm, uh, done talking. I'm going to go find the girls."

"Well, then, I'll come with you," said Jade, "Fon Master, would you like to accompany us?" Luke turned around to see Ion rather close to them. He must have been listening.

"Yes," said Ion, "I've had enough fresh air for now."

"Then, Luke, if you would lead us?" It was impossible to tell what Jade was thinking, or implying, or anything. It almost made it worse, thought Luke sourly. Sometimes it was just nice to know what page someone was on.

Luke nodded at Jade's request and he led a casual pace into the corridors of the Tartarus. After a few steps, Tear and Anise turned a corner and entered the same hall.

"Tear!" said Luke, and he ran up to her.

"Hey, Luke," greeted Anise.

"Hey, Anise," responded Luke. He gave her a smile for as long as was polite and then turned back to Tear.

"You get to know the ship?" he asked her. Tear smiled – actually smiled at him! - and nodded. Luke relaxed himself beside her. He felt so gratified to get a genuine smile from her, because she barely smiled at all before Akzeriuth. He smiled back at her, and Tear tilted her head to the side in amusement.

"I hate to break up this moment, but there is merchant traveling with us," said Jade, "Would you like to see what he has to offer?"

"What's up, Colonel?" asked Anise. Luke wondered where Jade was going with this. It wasn't like him to be concerned about the safety of others; he just let them fend for themselves.

The man gave one of his wry smiles. "Oh, nothing, I just thought Luke might do better than a stick."

Luke automatically checked his sheath, and blushed when he realized that he still had his wooden training sword. The monsters in the Cheagle Woods were so weak that until the Liger Queen, Luke hadn't had any problems, and so had forgotten the issue.

"Yes, it would be better if we encounter an enemy as strong as the Liger Queen again," said Tear thoughtfully.

Luke laughed inwardly at that. 'As strong as the Liger Queen.' As they were right now, only Jade and himself had a dream of defeating Van – who was many, many times stronger. Well, Luke knew he could beat Van, but he needed a good sword and to train this body back to kilter. He only wished he could do it right now instead of having to let everything happen to take suspicion off of himself.

"Alright," chuckled Luke, "Let's go see if he has another sword."

"I'll stay here, thank you," said Jade.

"It doesn't interest you, Colonel?" asked Ion.

"No," said Jade, pushing his glasses up his nose, "I've already seen his wares."

That was unsurprising enough, seeing as Jade liked to be prepared. "Okay," said Luke, "Everyone who wants to see what he's got, come with me."

"I'll show you his room," offered Anise, and she took Luke's hand and started dragging him towards one of the rooms in the hall. Tear and Ion followed them, leaving Jade to stand alone in the corridor. Luke was surprised by Anise's strength as she pulled him to the second door. She jerked the handle open and pulled him in. Tear and Ion entered a moment after them.

Luke gently extracted his arm from Anise's. He didn't want to offend her, although he really didn't want to lead her on, either. Then he walked over to the man sitting at the table giving them all an interested look.

"You're the merchant, then?" asked Luke politely.

"Yup," said the man, "You looking for something specific?"

"A sword," said Luke, "Have you got any decent ones?"

The man nodded, pleased at having a customer. "I've got a few for swordsmen of beginner levels, that being my market. There's a cutlass here if you want it."

"Better than a stick," said Luke, thinking of Jade, "How much?"

"Four hundred."

Luke winced. He was terrible at haggling, but four hundred was just too much for their wallet, even after the gald they'd gotten from the Liger Queen. He wished he could just go home to get money from Mother.

"Uh, Tear?" Luke said to the woman in the back, "You can haggle, right?"

The merchant didn't protest at this, only carefully watched the by-play. Luke turned back to him apologetically.

"Sorry, but we're kinda short on money," said Luke. The merchant shrugged. Tear walked up.

"Haggle? I suppose I'm decent at it," conceded Tear, "How about two fifty?" she posed to the merchant. Luke turned away, feeling very out of his league. Buying and selling was all well and good, but bartering was something Luke had just never gotten the hang of.

Luke was about to go and join Anise and Ion near the door, but he saw they were deep in conversation, and likely didn't want a third wheel. He sighed and forced himself to listen to the price of his sword be decided.

After a few moments of numbers being carefully meted out, the price of three hundred and ten gald was decided on and Luke replaced his wooden sword with the cutlass. (The merchant bought the stick for pocket change, which Tear kept.)

"You finished?" asked Anise, "Then let's go."

"Don't you need anything?" said Luke quizzically.

The girl shook her head. "Nah, I've got everything I need."

"Well, if you're sure," said Tear, "Let's go find Jade."

Luke walked over and opened the door, and went through, assuming he'd see Jade patiently waiting for them or else not there at all. He was wrong on both assumptions.

Jade and Largo were exchanging blows with such noise that Luke concluded that the rooms were sound-proof, because there was little hint of the battle elsewhere. Jade's face was typically emotionless, but Largo was obviously frustrated with the skill of the other man.

The unfortunate thing about where the battle was taking place was that Luke ran out right into the middle of it. Luke never thought of Largo being a very opportunistic man, but when Largo didn't miss a beat and swung his scythe into the wall and effectively pinned Luke, he was forced to admit that Largo didn't miss chances. A large shock bit right into his shoulder, and Luke realized Largo's scythe had actually stabbed right into him. He was trapped and the pain in his shoulder was agonizing. He squeezed his eyes shut and moaned. It felt so bad, but it was probably just a flesh wound. Luke felt pathetic.

From the doorway, Luke heard Anise and Ion gasp loudly. Tear wasn't making a sound. When Luke was able to conquer the pain, he opened his eyes to get a look at what was happening. It was a standoff. Once Luke had been captured, Jade had frozen in his steps. Tear was stock-still in the threshold, staring wide-eyed at the tableau.

"Now," said Largo roughly, "Hand the Fon Master over."

"Don't do it!" Luke bellowed as loudly as he could with his little breath, "Stay with Jade, Ion!" The boy ruler carefully moved farther away from Largo, but when he took his first step, Largo drew his blade deeper into Luke's shoulder, making him gasp with pain. Ion withdrew his foot, petrified of moving. Luke shook his head frantically, hot blood flowing down his arm faster than he predicted. It started to drip off his fingers.

"Don't!" Luke gasped, but it was hard to make any sound with his limited breath.

"Mieu! Fifth fonon at the ceiling!"

There was intense heat and light streaming from Mieu, but Luke had no idea where the cheagle was. He was the same as Largo; feeling the heat of the flames, and half-blinded by the light. Jade seemed to leap from the pillar of fire. His spear appeared from his arm in a brief flash, and it flew towards Largo's stomach. Largo withdrew his blade from Luke and stepped backwards to avoid the spear stabbing him. While Luke collapsed on the ground, clutching his shoulder, Largo and Jade continued their one-on-one fight.

Largo forced Jade back far enough that Tear woke from her stupor and she herself flew at the Black Lion. Jade backed off momentarily and began a fon verse. Through his half-aware state, Luke thought the fon verse sounded weird. Wasn't that word different last time?

In desperation at this new fonic arte, Largo drew a small cube from a pocket and threw it at Jade. Tear lifted her staff to try and intercept it, but it hit Jade with a soft 'thump'. A large glyph rose up from the cube and surrounded Jade. He fell to one knee with a loud grunt.

Tear hissed and whipped around. She sent energy bolts at his face. Largo batted some away, but couldn't avoid a few. One landed on his cheek, making the man flinch. Jade didn't waste any time. Despite his pain and surprise, he dove at Largo. His spear only appeared in his hand at the last second, and it plunged through Largo's abdomen. Blood spattered everywhere.

Luke gazed at the big man undaunted. The first time he had seen this, he had been sick to his stomach. But he knew Largo wasn't going to die. Jade roughly jerked his spear out of the man, and Largo fell to the ground with a squelch. Time stood still for a moment. Just a moment.

"Who was that?" said Tear, her voice trembling. Her back was to everyone but Jade. Jade pulled his spear back into his arm and turned around to face Tear. His front was splattered with Largo's blood.

"Largo, the Black Lion and one of the six God-Generals." Jade was very quiet, and very serious.

"A God-General!" gasped Anise.

_But there are seven. Jade's wrong,_ thought Luke inanely, _And Tear sounds scared. That's weird._ Luke was somewhat aware of the randomness of his thoughts, but he figured that was just from losing all this blood. It was still coming, coming, coming... All this from an arm wound?

Tear turned around to Luke, Anise and Ion. Luke looked up to her face and realized that Tear's voice wasn't trembling with fear – it was shaking with rage. Her eyes quickly checked the Fon Master for injuries, and then she strode to Luke. Luke was still half laying down and half crouching on the floor, trying to staunch the blood flow. His whole arm was slick with blood and his clothes were quite ruined.

Despite her visible fury, Tear was gentle as she slipped her right hand under Luke's head to support it and checked Luke's wound with her left. As Tear's finger poked the gash, Luke felt fire hit his arm and brain simultaneously, and tried to jerk away from her hand.

"I need to get the cloth away from the cut," said Tear calmly, "I don't want any cloth fused into you when I close the wound." Luke tried as best as he could to remain still while Tear fiddled with the cloth, eventually cutting the entire sleeve off.

"Energia que cura," murmured Tear, "First Aid!" Luke felt a blissful chill spill over his shoulder, and he resisted the urge to touch the wound. Tear held onto the arte longer than entirely necessary, to make sure that his flesh would start knitting back together properly. The stream of blue light continued in a cycle, from Tear's hand to Luke's arm and back again. It illuminated Tear's face in an ethereal glow. Attracted, Luke reached out to touch her face, but the arte finished and he drew back his hand, feeling disappointed.

Tear continued to hold his head while carefully prodding the red skin around the laceration. Luke felt twinges of pain, and he winced when she got too close. It was no where near fully healed, but it had set it on the way towards recovery. Luke probably wouldn't be able to use his sword very well for a while. When Tear was satisfied that Luke was healed and not going to be crippled, she got back up and helped Luke stand. His shoulder still ached. When Luke was up with some effort, Tear stared at him intently and her anger intensified.

"What were you – How could you be so - " Tear bit her tirade off and spun to glare lividly at Largo's still form.

"Luke couldn't have known," said Ion quietly. He hadn't moved from his spot, but had turned to see the oldest three easier. Something in his stance made Luke think he was still afraid to move for fear of hurting someone.

Tear held her head in a hand, grimacing. "I know that. I know that."

Luke touched Tear's shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry, Tear," he said sincerely, "Thank you for healing me."

"Well, of course I'm going to heal you!" said Tear, clearly exasperated, "You're – ugh, never mind."

"I'm what?" said Luke. He couldn't interpret Tear's words or actions, and so had no idea what she was trying to get across.

"Never mind," repeated Tear.

Jade, Anise and Ion joined Luke and Tear, who happened to be in the middle.

"It's clear they're after Fon Master Ion," said Jade calmly, "Anise, could you take Ion and the letter to St. Binah and meet us there? The two of you alone will be able to handle the trip and travel in a quieter fashion than all of us together."

"I think we could manage," said Anise. She sounded both afraid and determined. From what Luke knew of her, it was a healthy mindset; it encouraged caution. "But what about you, Colonel? What were you hit with?"

"A fon slot seal," said Jade grimly, "From now on, my fonic artes will be severely limited."

"Oh, no," said Tear in distress.

Jade waved off her concern. "I'll be fine. I'm confident I can perform at your level even with the seal." At this, they all half-heartedly glared at Jade, but he ignored it very well.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ion. Luke and Tear turned to Jade. Luke wondered what Jade had in mind for them. Surely he wasn't going to go back to Engeve or anything.

"We're going to retake the Tartarus," said Jade matter-of-factly. Luke stared at Jade. Just the three of them, him with a hurt arm? He didn't plan on this the first time, did he? Luke struggled to remember, and smiled ruefully that the plan was almost the same. He couldn't believe he'd willingly gone along with it.

"Well, come on, Ion," said Anise slightly more confidently. She gently tugged Ion's arm and they ran off down one of the corridors. Jade, Tear and Luke watched them go.

"Hey, where are they going?" asked Luke, feeling concerned for their safety. He didn't remember any exit down by that end.

"They know the ship well," Jade assured him, "They'll play tag with the Oracle Knights for a bit and find a way off."

"So where do we go?" asked Tear, now back to her soldier mindset.

"To take the bridge, of course," said Jade, "They wouldn't have bothered with us if they hadn't taken control of where the ship is going."

"Then, let's go," said Tear.

They all side-stepped Largo and continued on. Looking at him carefully, Luke thought he could see Largo's shallowly rising and falling. They walked up the metal stairs and onto the platform where Luke, Jade and Ion had talked.

Tear glanced up the ladder, and started climbing.

"Let me," said Jade, "I'm more able to deal with immediate threats." Tear dropped and let Jade go ahead of her. As Jade climbed up, Luke glanced to the horizon. Was Asch going to be here? He hoped what he had already done hadn't messed with things so far just yet. He needed to see Asch. The last time he had seen Asch, he was dead. With the happy idea of seeing Asch again, adrenaline started rushing through his body, reducing the pain in his shoulder.

The adrenaline was a big help in climbing the ladder. At the last few rungs, Luke didn't know if his arm would've been able to handle it without the natural pain-killer. When he got to the top, Jade and Tear were both patiently waiting for him. Luke shot a look behind them, half-expecting to see Asch tapping his sword against the ground impatiently. But he wasn't.

Tear glanced around quizzically, but there was no one there. There was not a soul on the surface of the Tartarus besides them.

Jade walked on towards the bridge, and the two teenagers fell in behind him. It was a slow walk to the bridge, but it made it easier for Luke. His thoughts were contrary, both liking the easy pace and wanting to go faster. Was it such a crime to want to see Asch again?

Later then Luke would have liked, they got to the bridge.

"There's bound to be sentries around here somewhere," commented Tear worriedly, "Why aren't we seeing any?"

"They're likely trying to lure us into a false sense of security and then trap us. Come on, Tear," said Jade, "Luke, you stay here."

Luke frowned. What if Asch was in there? "Why do I have to stay?"

"If we get ambushed, you'll likely just get more hurt," said Jade, "I'm sorry, but your wound makes you a liability."

Luke's heart sank. "O-oh. I get it."

"Sorry," said Tear, gesturing apologetically.

"No, it's okay," said Luke, waving her off. "I'll be fine out here. You two go and do what you need to."

Tear and Jade went around the corner, leaving Luke feeling irrationally abandoned. It was a several minute wait before they returned, and when they did, they both looked worried.

"What's wrong?" asked Luke, running up to them.

"It was too easy," said Tear, "There were Oracle Knights there, but not enough to man the ship. We think we're being set up."

Luke's stomach dropped out as he thought of Anise and Ion. Were they let to escape? They were probably in captivity right now! But he couldn't continue thinking about it from what happened at that moment.

From above, several giant icicles shot down towards them. Luke dodged all of them, and ran to Tear, who hadn't managed to escape. But he never got there. A blinding pain from the back of his head brought him to his knees. A hand roughly shoved him down, and Luke went down. Half-conscious, Luke rolled over to see Asch standing over him, contempt written all over his face.

"Asch!" wheezed Luke, "Asch, are you - "

"Shut up!" snarled Asch, and he kicked Luke in the side. Gasping, Luke counted his blessings that it was the opposite side of his wounded shoulder.

"But wait!" said Luke, gulping for air, "I know you!"

This enraged Asch, and he lifted his (sheathed) sword to strike Luke.

"Asch!" shouted a female voice from above. Asch froze in position, his mind discernibly balking at what his body was being forced to do. Legretta jumped down, teasing the edges of Luke's peripheral sight. _This is my chance!_ thought Luke. Concentrating, he tried to open Asch's mind to his. There wasn't even a whisper of Asch's consciousness. Luke mentally searched but the pathway to Asch's mind was not there. _Why isn't this working?! _Luke shouted in his mind. This was so frustrating. There must be something different about this world. The rules were different or something! What were the rules?

"I wasn't going to kill him," growled Asch with gritted teeth. His arm didn't move, still wanting to hit Luke for his words.

"Still, it wouldn't do to harm hostages more than necessary," said Legretta, trying to calm Asch down, "Put your sword away."

Asch grimaced and hung his sword by his belt again. Legretta walked over with one of her guns always trained at the far side on Jade, and met eyes with Luke. Luke stared up at her, wondering what he looked like to her. The woman's eyes trailed over Luke's torso, always checking Jade every few seconds.

"His shirt is half torn off and he's covered in blood; he's been injured." Legretta's comments were disinterested.

"It looks like Largo's work," said Asch mildly, most of his anger gone. Luke followed their gaze, and actually looked at his shoulder. He hadn't wanted to before, but he knew now why Tear had been so upset. It was no mean line; there was a thick red groove from the front of his clavicle around his arm and disappeared around the curve down. With his stomach twisting, Luke was only glad that he hadn't looked at it when it was still open and bleeding.

"Largo's dead," said Jade harshly. Luke craned his head to see him, but Asch kicked him again when his shoulders lifted off of the ground. He kept himself on the ground, but he twisted to see Jade. The man was crouching in a ready position. Luke's eyes widened when he realized that Jade intended to take them on.

When he spoke, Legretta realized the same thing. "We'll see," she said coldly, "Now listen." She drew her other gun, cocked it and pointed it straight down at Luke's head. "He won't survive this."

Seeing this as permission, Asch drew his sword and pointed it at Luke's chest. Jade couldn't deny the threat. Luke wasn't exactly unaware of it himself. He wasn't worried about Asch, but Legretta's gun really was pointed perfectly between his eyes. He swallowed convulsively.

"...We surrender," said Jade with distaste.

"Asch, take them to the hold," commanded Legretta.

"Right," said Asch. He sheathed his sword and leaned down over Luke's head and torso. He held a hand over Luke's nose and mouth. Panicking, Luke struggled against the hand, but Asch picked up Luke's whole head between his hands.

"It's either this, or getting a blow to the head," said Asch sharply, "If I hit you, it'll likely give you brain damage. Not that it'll make much difference." Luke tried to calm down, but there was something intensely terrifying about not being able to breath. Luke weakly gripped the hand blocking his air ways, but tried not to pull the hand away. His hands shook with the effort of letting Asch knock him out. Black spots started appearing in his vision, and he felt disconnected from the world around him. It was really hard to think. After a few more seconds, his vision turned all black, and Luke disconnected from consciousness.

* * *

Anise was scowling. Things had been going fine; great, even. Getting out of the Tartarus had been ridiculously easy. They had barely been any resistance, and they didn't even run into any Oracle Knights. Anise was capable of putting aside her anger if the mission was important, and if this mission wasn't that important, she would have been fuming at the fact that the God-Generals themselves were trying to capture Ion! It was all Mohs, of course, but still... Mohs wanted Ion for his silly war-starting and everything. 

But that wasn't the issue here. The main thing here was that after they had left the Tartarus, stupid Arietta had been waiting for them with her monster friends. Both caught unawares, Ion and Anise were quickly captured and held. The only good thing was that Arietta was leaving her alone. The bad thing was she was earnestly talking with Ion and both were smiling! Anise scowled deeper. Inwardly, she knew she was jealous of their longer history, but she always tried to deny that any of those kind of feelings.

Aside from her issues with the other girl, Anise's mind kept running over the words Colonel Jade had said. They needed to get to St. Binah! What if the others got to St. Binah right away? They might even move on to Kaitzur without them!

Anise glowered at Arietta only a few feet away. She was holding Tokunaga! The key to getting out of here! Anise didn't like to think she was totally dependent on the fon tech doll, but she was forced to admit it here. When she tried to move towards Arietta, the liger behind her snapped its jaws at her feet. Anise jumped and cussed at the animal, quietly so Arietta wouldn't hear.

She gentle tip-toed over to the girl, and reached out for her doll over Arietta's shoulder. The liger followed her carefully, making sure Anise didn't try to run. Without a sound, Anise grabbed Tokunaga's paw and pulled hard. Arietta yelped angrily and whirled around. Anise grew Tokunaga to battle size and she instantly turned around to pound the surprised liger in its face. Best to have her friend out of commission first.

Arietta began casting, and quickly threw a Shadow arte at Anise. Anise managed to half-dodge it, and swiped at Arietta as best as she could. Surprised, Arietta got hit and flew back a few feet. She got back up and cast an instant Rem arte at Anise again.

Anise managed to avoid this one completely, as it was a concentrated beam. With a loud cry, Tokunaga gave Arietta a might uppercut and the pink-haired girl was flung into the forest.

Anise whipped around, bringing Tokunaga down to her shoulder in seconds.

"Ion!" she called, "We gotta go!"

"Right!" agreed the boy, and together they ran in the direction of St. Binah.

* * *

Lorelei rumbled loudly_. You haven't been watchful, Luke, _he reprimanded the boyY_ou haven't been paying attention to what you know should be happening. _

Luke frowned in confusion. _"_What?"

_You knew Largo was coming. You knew Asch was going to use that arte. Use your foreknowledge!_ Lorelei sounded as close to angry as he got. Luke wilted a little.

"I - I'm sorry," he mumbled, staring towards the ground.

_Luke! ... Heed ... my ... voice! _

Luke's eyes shot up again. "Huh?"

_It's the other Lorelei, Luke. You know what I'm go - _

_Luke...!_

_- ing to say already._

Luke got a sudden flash of long crimson hair.

"What's wrong?" That was Legretta.

"Er, nothing." Luke felt himself speak those words. What was going on?

Luke was pulled back into the core dream-scape.

Lorelei's voice was slightly disconcerted when he spoke again. _Luke. I sent you to the other - _

_Use my power! Show me -_

_- world with an advantage. You need to use it to change - _

_- the power!_

_- anything. What were the objectives I gave you?_

If that last question was interrupted, Luke didn't think he would've known what was going on at all. He had trouble remembering just as it was.

"Er, don't kill any innocents."

_That's a broader way to state it, but it will be fine. _The second Lorelei seemed to have faded. _What is the second?_

"Uh..." Luke's voice trailed off as he tried to remember but failed. Lorelei accepted the implications of Luke's silence.

_The second objective is to not let Mystearica become sick with the miasma. Repeat them._

"Don't kill any innocent people, and don't let Tear get sick."

_Don't forget._

Luke's eyes shot open and he jerked awake.

* * *

Some of you may be questioning why Asch knocked Luke out when it would be easier to get them to the hold with two people conscious. Asch was being cautious. If Jade was carrying Tear, and Luke was at swordpoint, there would still be an opportunity for them to overpower Asch and escape. But if there were two unconscious people, and Jade not being the type to abandon companions, there would be no way Jade could make an escape with two almost fully-grown people under his arms and still be able to fight his way out. Harder in the short run, but safer. 

If you're going to drop a line with a review (which I highly encourage!), I'd like to know what you guys think of the Anise scene.


	5. Wind At Your Back

_**Title: Promethes Mneme by apakoha**_

**Author's Note:** You guys will all notice that this chapter was later than usual. I'm sorry to say that this is probably how it's going to be during the school year. Yes, I still go to school, and yes, I care about my grades (and this is entirely leaving out all extracurricular activities, work and my social life). Now, also, this was a really hard chapter to write. It definitely didn't come as easily, which may or may not have something to do with my latest addiction to the show Andromeda, and just general writer's block. Thanks to every single one of my reviewers, and those who commented on the Anise scene. It was very helpful:)

VilyaSage: Thanks for the review! There's actually a bit more official info about Cantabile out. We know that Cantabile is female, we know what she looks like, and that she sometimes helped Legretta train Tear. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on anything.)

Sieg15 : ...Oops. (Oh, well.) They called him a GG in-game, so I just continued calling him such. Thanks for telling me, though - if you see anything else wrong by way of canon, please tell me! And read the above for some info on Cantabile. She commands the 6th Division in the Order of Lorelei, which is supposed to be the biggest.

Go here for an official shot of Cantabile (and remove the spaces): http:// namco-ch . net / talesoffandom2 / character / cantabile . php

ShadowofUndine: I've already responded, but you're the only one who's asked what the title means...;)

For your information, weldur is pronounced 'wehl-DUHR' and Afficci is pronounced 'aff-EE-chi'.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Sync was running through forests and across plains. He was used to the running; it's not such a bad thing when you're fit. He was following the Tartarus. For the last few months, he had been 'tailing' Asch and sending the regular reports to Van. Sync really didn't know what he would put in his reports if Asch was doing something suspicious or out of the ordinary, but he wasn't. So Sync wrote what happened. Asch finished up at Shurrey Hill, and then went to St. Binah for a few days to relax. Nothing wrong with that, everyone did it when they were abroad. Then Asch returned to Daath to report to Van, and Van saw him with his own eyes. 

But after that, Van told Sync to keep following Asch. Neither of the God-Generals had a problem with it, as they found they could talk to each other fairly easily. Sync found Asch's constant grumpiness somewhat good-natured, and Asch found Sync's constant pessimism funny. They weren't quite friends, but there was the start of something there. Because Sync knew a fair bit more about the rest of the God-Generals than they knew about him, the green-haired boy avoided mentioning _anything_ relating to replicas. That was why they could never be true friends in the sense of the word; Asch hated replicas so much Sync knew that he himself would be included in that general loathing. But they were amiable.

A change in this routine came when Asch was assigned to take the Tartarus with Legretta and Arietta by order of Mohs. Sync received two forms that day: the regular memo detailing the mission and a scribbled note from Van telling him to continue shadowing Asch. Sync wished that Asch's mission was small enough that they could keep talking, but with the other two, Sync would have to do this properly. He had felt oddly disappointed, and not sure why.

So Sync memorized the official memo and tracked the Tartarus separately from the other three. He found it eventually by the small hamlet, Engeve, and waited for Asch to show up. When the Tartarus went up north, Sync relaxed in the small village, knowing that his companions wouldn't go on to Grand Chokmah. For most of the day, the Tartarus was up there. Later in the afternoon, Sync spotted it ripping down south, probably towards Kaitzur. Sync then tore after it on his own two feet. Asch had to be on it already.

Which led him to where he was now. The Tartarus was pulling to a halt in the middle of nowhere. Sync ran right up to it and searching the port side for a way to climb up. He eventually found a ledge leading to a neglected deck, and Sync stayed on there. The Tartarus didn't start for a while. Sync waited.

* * *

Luke shot awake with a startled gasp. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was sitting up. He stared blankly at the blanket covering his lower half. Where was he? He looked around and saw Jade and Tear looking right back at him. Mieu bounced up upon seeing Luke awake. 

"Master! You're awake!"

Tear walked over. "How are you feeling, Luke?"

Luke grimaced and gingerly touched the back of his head where Asch had first hit him. It stung, but there was no blood there. (A small thing, as there was dried blood just about everywhere else.)

"I'm... fine," he muttered. He looked up into Tear's concerned face. _'Don't let Mystearica become sick with the miasma.' _

"Are you feeling well enough to move around, Luke?" asked Jade, who walked up beside Tear. Looking down at him, Jade seemed like a concerned doctor or even father. It was times like these that made Luke believe he was reading too much into things, because Jade wouldn't act like this for a good long while. Luke shifted his legs. There didn't seem to be a problem, so he pulled his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Yeah." Luke slowly stood up. The upper half of his shirt was dried right onto his skin. Luke pulled the ruined cloth off of himself with a scowl. He looked around the room they were in, and realized they were in one of the holding cells. He shuddered as discreetly as he could: he hated cages.

"Are we going to escape?" Luke asked, turning back to Jade.

"That is the plan," said Jade, "It seems like we won't be able to re-take the Tartarus after all."

"Colonel..," said Tear slowly, "Can you explain what's going on? You said once Luke was awake..."

"Ah, yes," said Jade, "I thought he might want to hear this as well. Before you awoke, Luke, Tear was asking about those people who came and why we have to abandon the ship. They were all God-Generals. If it was just Largo, or even Largo and another, we probably would've been able to claim the Tartarus, but there are three."

After a silence, Tear asked, "Who?"

"There was Largo the Black Lion, Legretta the Quick, and Asch the Bloody." At the last name, Jade turned and gave Luke a look. Luke didn't know how to define the look. It wasn't a hard look, it wasn't penetrating, but it was a serious look... Luke realized that this was Jade's curious face. There was his non-serious curiousness, but this time, Jade seemed to be honestly wondering at something. If it was about him and Asch, then Luke didn't need to read his mind to know what Jade was thinking about. Jade was catching on that Luke was Asch's replica. Then Jade would start to wonder at Luke's greeting of Asch. If he wasn't in front of people, Luke would've slapped his forehead. _Oh, well. Too late. But Asch is more important than Jade finding out._

"That makes sense," said Luke, trying to bring Jade's thoughts to the present, "So, are we leaving now or...?"

Jade visibly collected himself, although he hid it in the familiar gesture of pushing up his glasses. "Yes, now." He strode over to the laser beam bars of the cell, and pulled something from his pocket. Jade then threw it through the lasers and with a crash, the lasers disappeared, leaving them free to walk out.

Jade did just that. With a casual gesture, he flicked on the intercom and said clearly, "By my name as Necromancer, heed my command. Initiate emergency plan, Corpse Hunt."

Within seconds, the power went out and they felt and heard the ship screech to a stop.

"Let's go," said Jade, "We'll try a port hatch – there should be an operational one even with the power cut."

"How sure are you?" asked Luke. He almost couldn't remember going out a hatch, just a very large explosion.

"Quite sure," said Jade irritably, "Now, may we...?"

Luke hastily nodded, and followed Jade when he started to walk. But Jade didn't go straight for any exit in the hallways. He started opening and checking in every door on the right side of the hall.

"What are you looking for?" asked Tear.

"Our weapons. I suspect they will be unguarded as every hand will be trying to get the Tartarus operational again."Jade sounded distracted.

"Will they be able to get it started?" wondered Tear, eyeing the dark fonstones above them.

"Oh, eventually, yes," said Jade. He opened another one, and smirked. "Here we go."

Luke and Tear's steps had to virtually double to keep up with Jade. The man opened up a box and picked up his spear. Luke grabbed his sheath and strapped it on carefully.

"Now let's find a way out," said Luke confidently.

"I think I know a way," said Jade. He held a hand to his head ruefully, "Now, I hate to blow holes in my ship, but there should be some gunpowder around here."

Luke chuckled nervously. "Gunpowder," he deadpanned. _Oh, man, I hope it's the same amount as last time and not any more._

"How are we going to light it?" asked Tear practically.

"Mieu," said Luke, looking down at the cheagle.

Mieu's ears wiggled happily. "I get to do something, Master?"

"You get to blow stuff up!" said Luke, a wide grin on his face.

"Yay!" Mieu cheered.

"So, where is this gunpowder?" queried Tear.

Jade pointed to the back. "A large box." Luke and Mieu walked around to where Jade had been pointing. Tear automatically started to follow but Luke waved her off.

"We'll be fine," he assured her, "Just come after like Jade."

Tear's foot hesitated, but she drew it back and stood next to Jade. Satisfied, Luke rounded the line of boxes that blocked them from the container of gunpowder. Luke picked it out immediately.

"That one." He pointed to it for Mieu's benefit.

"Yes, Master!" said Mieu, and he jumped up to spew fire at it. With a loud roar, the box exploded and blew a large hole in the side of the Tartarus. Tear and Jade made their way around the box barrier and saw Luke. Luke gave them a thumbs-up and he started climbing out of the Tartarus. One by one, cautiously, they followed.

It was slow progress down the slope of the landship. Luke kept expecting to see Arietta holding Ion prisoner but there was no scene like that anywhere he could see. He couldn't see anyone.

They made it to the bottom without event. Jade looked around cautiously, but there seemed to be no one.

"It looks like we're safe for now," said Tear, "Let's get goi - "

With a crash, a door on the Tartarus burst open and Legretta leaped out. The God-General shot several times at their feet, and it was clear that they were warning shots.

"Stop!" ordered Legretta.

"You can't stop us!" responded Luke, "Come on, guys, let's keep on."

Luke was forced to stop in his tracks when a liger roared and jumped right over him. It landed smoothly on the ground and cut off the group's escape route. Arietta spoke from behind him.

"Anise may have gotten away, but you won't!"

Luke, Jade, Tear and Mieu were blocked. They were far from surrounded, but there was no way they could get past easily without taking massive injuries.

Legretta walked down the steps.

"Get back on the Tartarus," she commanded, holding both guns on Luke and Jade.

"Major Legretta!" gasped Tear. Legretta spared her ex-student only a second's glance before coolly returning her attention to what she must have considered the greatest threats: the two people her guns were trained on.

Luke discreetly turned to see if Jade was going to do _something_, but the Malkuth soldier evidently trusted Legretta's aim to be very, very good. She wasn't even in a close enough range to leap at, to say nothing of Arietta and her liger companion.

_We could really use a deus ex machina right now_, thought Luke. The three humans backed up until they formed a very small triangle. Luke desperately wished Legretta wasn't ready for a fight, otherwise he'd draw his sword and fight past Arietta.

There was no choice but to surrender again. Luke gritted his teeth and waited for Jade to say the words. But then...

Deus ex machina. Guy fell from the top of the Tartarus and landed almost right on Legretta. Nobody lost any time. Guy kept Legretta busy and Jade jumped to help him. Tear lunged at the liger, and Luke faced off against Arietta. Although Luke had jumped to fight as fast as any of them, he didn't aim to kill. Arietta was a sad case every way you looked at it; Luke found he couldn't bring himself to kill her without telling her about what happened to Ion, her mother and about Van. Fortunately, with his skill level, he was able to avoid hurting her. Arietta wasn't very good at close-range combat, unlike Anise, so Luke found it easy to hold back.

The God-Generals were beaten.

"Let us through," said Jade icily. The point of his spear was right under her jaw and into the hollow of her throat. Legretta's lip curled in anger, and she twitched her head to the side as a silent admission of defeat.

"Go," Jade commanded Luke and the others. Luke let Tear and Mieu go ahead of him, and then he ran behind them. He heard Guy's heavier footfalls behind him. The ran ahead of the Tartarus, but didn't see or hear Jade for a few minutes. Eventually when they stopped at a clearing, Luke saw the glimmer of blue.

Jade ran into the clearing breathing heavily.

"Are we safe?" asked Tear.

"For the moment, I think so," said Jade, his voice strained.

"Good," said Guy, "Luke, are you okay? You're covered in blood." The blond man grabbed Luke's shoulders and searched Luke's face. Since Luke was sure that he himself was safe, Luke took the opportunity to study Guy right back.

...How had he ever missed the fact that he was Malkuthian?

"I'm perfectly fine," said Luke, laughing, looking Guy up and down. Even though he knew Guy was coming at this point, it was still awesome to see him again.

"Who is this, Luke?" asked Tear suspiciously. Jade walked up to Tear and studied Guy.

"An introduction would be nice," said Jade calmly.

Luke carefully extracted himself from Guy's grip. "This is my servant, Guy Cecil. He came looking for me, I guess."

"Of course," said Guy, his tone bordering on scolding, "I had to beg the White Knights to let me leave, but I wouldn't leave you out in who knows where. What are you doing here, Luke?" His expression was perturbed.

"It's kinda a long explanation - "

"So explain it," said Guy, "Come on. Do we have time?"

"Not now," said Jade, "Perhaps Luke could attempt to do it on the way to St. Binah?"

"Sure," said Luke quickly, "We gotta go, or else we might miss Anise and Ion."

"Anise and Io - " Guy started but Luke cut him off with a wave of his hand.

"It's part of the explanation," Luke assured him.

So they left. For the long trip, they didn't walk, but they weren't quite running either. Luke kept right beside Guy and explained that it was a hyperresonance that had brought him and Tear to Malkuth, and the trip to Engeve, meeting everybody, Cheagle Woods and coming on the Tartarus. Guy let him talk, and after quietly muttered his disbelief.

"You're on first-name terms with the Fon Master, this soldier woman is bringing you back home and Colonel Jade is using you for the peace treaty." The blond shook his head.

"I'm helping him," corrected Luke, "Think of it like that. Besides, it would be pointless not to help this treaty along."

"I see St. Binah," said Tear, sounding as excited as she usually ever got.

The group approached the city. They stuck to the sides and stayed out of view of the front gate. There were Oracle Knights carefully on watch, and unless they wanted to be captured, Luke and the others had to stay out of sight.

"How are we going to get through?" asked Guy.

"We'll be patient and wait for another opportunity," said Jade.

"I don't think we'll have to wait for long," said Luke, and he pointed out the approaching carriage to everyone else.

They watched the carriage approach and announce its cargo. As quiet as they were, it was easy to pick out the man driving say that another coach was on its way later in the day.

"And there's our opportunity," murmured Tear.

"Come," said Jade, "Let's go up the road."

They ran up the road, and waited. It was only a few minutes before Luke heard the telltale rattle of wheels on the path.

"I think that's our free pass," said Luke. He jumped up and walked over, and the others followed. When the coach came into sight, they were ready. The four humans surrounded it, all fingering their weapons.

"Colonel Curtiss? Luke? Tear?" Rose's voice carried quite well.

"Rose?" asked Tear in surprise, "This is unexpected!"

"Who's this?" asked Guy.

"She's the mayor of Engeve," said Jade, "We've met."

"What are you all doing here?" asked Rose, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"We have to get into St. Binah," said Luke, "but there are Oracle Knights preventing us from getting in. Do you think you can help us?"

The older woman was somewhat candid. "Oh, of course – Luke, your clothes are covered in blood!"

Luke looked down and did a double-take. "Yeah, well, I was going to get some new ones in St. Binah..." He blushed a little.

"Nonsense," said Rose sternly, "Just grab some in the back. Your style is a bit out of our league, but it would be suspicious to walk into a city with all that blood on you."

Luke nodded his thanks. "That's kind of you, Rose."

He walked around to the back of the coach and climbed in. While the others followed him, Luke searched for the clothes Rose had mentioned. He found a simple shirt and vest and he quickly discarded the ruined white overcoat and black undershirt.

He sat next to Tear as the coach started moving again. "Not quite clean, but it feels real good for now." Tear nodded in agreement.

"So, Jade," said Guy, "What if this Anise and Ion aren't there when we reach St. Binah?"

Jade was quietly sitting on the other side and opposite Guy. "There's a plan for contingencies. If they're not here, then they're either moving on to Kaitzur or dead."

"I like the first one," deadpanned Luke.

"Shh," said Rose quietly from the front, "We're coming up to the gates." There was silence among them. Rose and the guards conferred, and after a few anxious moments, they were let through. Rose rode for a few minutes without saying a word, and then stopped. She turned around to see them.

"We're just outside the market," she told them, smiling, "You can get off without being seen."

"Thanks," said Guy and everyone echoed him as they left the coach.

"So what are we doing first?" asked Tear, looking to Jade.

"Checking if Anise and Ion are indeed here," said Jade, with a tad of superiority in his voice. "If they came at all, we'll find out at the Malkuth military base."

"Lead the way," said Guy, and he gestured openly to the market. Jade gave a small bow, and started walking. They all followed him until they approached a large building, complete with smartly dressed Malkuthian soldiers guarding the entrance.

"Let me do the talking," requested Jade, "It will likely go a lot a lot more easily."

Luke shrugged. "Whatever."

In the main conference room, there were two men who Luke recognized as the two McGoverns, senior and junior. They were already deep in conversation, and Luke heard them mention the Oracle Knights and not having any orders.

"Field Marshal McGovern," Jade said loudly, "If you are wondering what to do about the Oracle Knights, then you'll be happy to know that once my business here is finished and we leave, they will also leave."

"Jade!" exclaimed the elder man, "It's certainly been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes," agreed Jade, "It's nice to see you're in good health."

"We're looking for Fon Master Ion, and his guardian, Anise Tatlin," said Tear, "Are they here, or did they pass through...?"

The Elder McGovern nodded. "They did indeed pass through here. The Oracle Knights are here because they think that the Fon Master is here in St. Binah."

"They can't be here now," stated Luke, feeling unsure. He hoped Anise had the sense to get out of here and onto St. Binah. And of course, there was no accounting for Ion.

"Oh, no," the elder assured him, "They rested, and at the first sign of the God-Generals and their soldiers, the two left for their next destination. They left Jade a letter, though." The older man handed over the envelope.

Jade took it, and opened it. He quickly scanned the contents.

"The good news is that Anise and Ion are safe and unharmed, and the letter of peace is intact," said Jade absently as he came across the information, "The only unfortunate thing I can see from Anise's report is that we aren't lucky enough to have met them here."

There was a pause as Jade finished the letter. Then Jade handed it to Luke without a word. Luke took it, feeling one part puzzled and one part resigned. Anise didn't seem as interested in him as before, not by a long shot, but it seemed there was no avoiding her nature to be attracted to rich, young men.

The part of the letter addressed to Luke was less than the last quarter of the page. Much less than the half page devoted to him last time. Intrigued, Luke read over it carefully.

_"Luke. I can't deny that I'm interested, what with you being not so bad looking and filthy rich. But I'm not blind and it's pretty obvious that you're into Tear, and she's interested, too. You both seem nice enough and Tear's definitely tough enough for you. I'll hold onto my hopes that you'll marry me someday, but... Even though it seems like it's destined to not be for us, I think I'm still going to care about you. You better keep safe, and keep everyone there safe, or else you and me are gonna have to duke it out. Seriously... I can't help but think of you as a guardian. So do what a guardian does. Say hi to Tear for me!_

_Fon Master Guardian, Anise Tatlin" _

Luke blinked in surprise. This was very, very different. And it also made him very glad that he was showing interest in Tear right away; if not for Tear's benefit, then at least for holding Anise back.

"What is it, Luke?" asked Guy curiously.

"Oh, uh, nothing," said Luke, flustered, "She just left me a message. No big deal. Oh, Tear, Anise says hi." The distraction didn't quite work as Guy gave him a suspicious look, but turned away when Jade started talking.

"That seems to be all," said Jade matter-of-factly, "I assure you, gentlemen. When we leave, so will the Oracle Knights."

"Thank you," said the younger McGovern, and the elder nodded his head politely. Jade turned on his heel and walked out. Tear returned the elder's nod, and murmured a goodbye, as did Guy. Luke smiled at them and then followed everyone.

They stopped outside in the middle of the market.

"So what now?" asked Tear.

"It's early," said Jade thoughtfully, "We could stock up and start on our way to Kaitzur."

Luke wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, we should spend the night. We'll be dodging Oracle Knights all evening and night, plus the Elder McGovern mentioned the God-Generals were here. I don't think we can deal with all that tonight."

"Yeah," agreed Guy, "Especially when we're still tired from this very long day." Luke caught Tear staring at his injured shoulder, and nodding.

"Very well," said Jade reluctantly, "Let's resupply. Tear, if you would handle food, tools, and gels, please. Guy, you look through arms and armour for us, but please don't be impulsive – it's an expensive trade. Luke, you need more clothes and basic traveling gear for yourself. I will be securing rooms for us at the inn."

Tear handed out the gald, and they went their separate ways. Luke meandered over to the clothing stalls. These were all travel clothes at the stalls; no unnecessarily frilly or lavish designs here. Luke sighed at the lack of jackets with the tails, but decided he could wait until home or even Daath to get something closer to his style.

Most of the outfits were in varying shades of brown to cover dirt, but some had lots of greens and monochrome shades for travel among places farther into the wilderness. Luke immediately decided that he liked these better.

After about half an hour, he had decided on a few darker green shirts, some that could pass for black in an instant, and a black jacket that went down to his knees. (The length was nice, but Luke had really liked the red griffin stitched into the back.) After a few moments thought, he bought a few more pairs of black pants. Somehow he was getting hurt a lot more in this reality, and he had better be prepared for more destroyed clothing.

With his new purchases in hand and about to head to the miscellaneous market stalls, a shorter man stopped him in the street.

"I see you've been buying dark clothing," the man said coyly, "You want to hide, blend in, yes?"

Luke considered this a second, and nodded. He hadn't really thought about it, but stealth had been one of the major reasons for buying what he did. After his last life, he knew stealth could never be underestimated. Being able to hide from the enemy even for a split second had saved lives.

"Then how are you going to hide that red mane of yours, hmm?" The man looked at Luke as if the logic of red hair was obviously backwards.

"I'm not dyeing it," Luke said automatically. His hair was too... special to just make it brown or black or something. It was selfish, the red hair, because it really only made him feel different from the crowd, and it didn't serve any other purpose.

"Of course not," the man said soothingly, "I was only pointing it out. But perhaps you might be interested in something to hide it for tight situations?"

Slowly, Luke nodded. It didn't really cross his mind, but sure, it was a good idea.

"Then come," said the man, who must have been a merchant. Luke fell in step with the man, and they walked without words until they reached a small stall filled with objects from cultures Luke didn't think he had ever seen before.

"The hair is a problem, yes, but the eyes are quite shiny things." The merchant was muttering to himself as he rooted through the objects, "Ah, no matter. A weldur should be fine..."

"Sir?" asked Luke uncertainly, "I'm not sure what you're talking about..."

"Aha!" said the man triumphantly, and he turned around what looked like a dark grey scarf with no loose fringes in his hands. "This is a weldur, dear boy."

"What is it?" asked Luke, and he took it in his hands. It felt like only a heavy veil, but it looked quite opaque.

"A weldur," said the man impatiently, "Cover yourself with it!"

Luke stared at him for a moment, and then started awkwardly wrapping it around his head and trying to cover all visible hair. There was no way he was fitting all of his hair into it, but he figured the jacket would cover the hair in the back. The merchant got impatient and whipped it away from Luke. He then started wrapping it expertly around Luke's head. He finished by tucking an edge down around Luke's neck and it ended back up by his temple. The loose loop then rested against Luke's chest.

"Very good," said the man approvingly, "Then you can do this - " He brought the bottom edge down over Luke's eyes, and weirdly enough, he could still see perfectly, " - Or this." And he tucked the bottom loop tighter around Luke's nose and mouth. His face was completely covered in the black material. His breathing was a little forced, but still in a range of comfort. He imagined he looked pretty funny, but without a mirror, it was impossible to tell.

It was also quite obvious that this was going to be only used for infiltrations or something like that; it was too much effort to use it daily. Maybe he could use it as a regular scarf for everyday use.

"You like?" asked the man eagerly. Luke gingerly touched the fabric covering his entire head, until he was sure it wasn't going to fall off with the first bit of contact.

"Is this very durable?" asked Luke, feeling impressed with this... welder, or whatever.

"Yes, very," said the merchant amiably. The grin on his face should have been emitting light, Luke thought, amused.

"How much?"

The man looked even more delighted. "The price is one fifty, but for you, I offer one hundred if you promise to promote Afficci here in St. Binah."

"Your name is Afficci?" asked Luke. Before he could respond eagerly, Luke shrugged. "Never mind. I'll take it." Luke handed over one hundred and promised to tell people about him. Then Afficci spent the next half hour teaching Luke how to tie the weldur. (Needless to say, it fit the definition of long and arduous to a 't'.)

Luke walked away a very satisfied man. He tucked the glorified turban/scarf into his clothing bag and went to find some other random needed supplies with what meager funds he had left. (He spent about fifteen minutes looking for a slim travel bag, a polishing cloth for his sword, a paper thin fon tech sleeping bag, and various odds and ends necessary for outdoor travel.)

After his long shopping trip, Luke finally made his way to the inn. The front desk helpfully gave him the room numbers Jade had picked, and he went upstairs, trying not to drag his feet, no matter how tired he felt.

Guy and Jade were there, while Tear and Mieu were apparently still at the market. She was probably haggling over the price of apple gels or something, and Mieu hanging about at her heels. Guy and Jade were quietly discussing something in what must have been the men's room, and they looked up in unison when Luke walked in.

"Get anything good?" asked Guy with interest.

Luke shrugged. "Yeah, just some travel clothes and a jacket. Plus some weird scarf thing that'll be real handy if I have to sneak around anywhere, plus it can cover my airways if I need to filter the air for whatever reason."

"And the other things you need?" asked Jade.

"I've got pretty much what I need, I think," said Luke carefully, "If I missed something, it should be able to wait until Kaitzur."

"Well, that's good," said Guy, "You've got a halfway decent sword with you, so I got you a plate guard." Guy held out the chest armour.

Luke grinned, and lifted the guard in his hand. It was light enough, and heavy enough to make him work a little. He threw it on the only unoccupied bed.

"Thanks, Guy."

"No problem," said Guy, and he waved away Luke's words.

"Did anything happen while I was gone?" Luke asked, sitting down next to Jade. The older man looked down at him out of the corner of his eyes.

"Not particularly," said Jade boredly.

"Yeah, right," scoffed Guy, "We saw the God-Generals just outside the city."

"What were you guys doing near the gate?" asked Luke. Going near the gate guarded by Oracle Knights?

"It wasn't for the purpose of going near the gate," Guy assured him, "I just had to cross the market and going near the gate was the closest, and then I met Jade - "

"Then we saw the God-Generals," Jade smoothly interjected, "They were discussing their next move, and the Oracle Knights were in fact pulled out from St. Binah."

"Almost all of them were there, and they mostly went their separate ways," confirmed Guy, "Which just tells us that we need to hurry to Kaitzur. I'd bet anything that at least one of them is heading in that direction."

"Ah," said Luke, slightly overwhelmed. The last time, everyone had been there to see the God-Generals and everybody had gotten a good idea of their plans. This time, he'd have to take Jade and Guy's word for it.

"Well," announced Luke after a moment of silence, "I'm going to take a shower. If Tear gets back before I'm done, tell Mieu I'm not dying in some back alley, please."

Guy chuckled and nodded.

Luke took his time in the shower. After he was sure he had gotten all of the blood and dirt off of his body, he took the time to really examine the scar on his shoulder. It definitely wasn't just a line of new skin. It was a red, ugly groove a few millimeters _into_ his body, and it ran from his chest to his back, as far as Luke could see. He wasn't quite sure, since it ran into his back farther than he could turn his head, but it was long. Luke shuddered, and refused to touch it. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to be traumatized from it, but feeling where flesh was outright missing was creepy.

After he finished the shower and dried himself off, Luke put on only pants and a shirt. The jacket and weldur, he left in the bag, although he was tempted to put them on anyway.

When he got back into the guys' room, Tear and Mieu had returned. Mieu enthusiastically greeted his master, and Luke resignedly returned the greetings. Tear giggled at Luke's lack of enthusiasm, and Luke shot her a sarcastic look.

"We're all here now," said Jade, "Let's go over our next course of action."

At Jade's implied command, Luke went and sat down on a bed to listen.

"We know that the God-Generals are after Ion, and by proxy, we are obstacles to them. I'm sure I don't need to explain that this sets us against the entire Order of Lorelei if what Ion says about the chain of command there is true."

The room was silent as they all realized the implications of protecting Ion.

"While I'm sure we have some allies within the Order, it would be stupid to hope for them. We are on our own for now. So when we leave tomorrow, we will be traveling very fast, and as stealthily as we can manage."

"What are the chances of us meeting up with a God-General?" asked Tear from her place against the wall.

"I'd imagine however hard we try, there's a good chance that they'll find us anyway."

"Then wouldn't it be easier just to travel in a straight line to Kaitzur if they're going to find us anyway?" asked Luke.

"No, we have to try," said Guy slowly, "If there's a chance that they won't, we have to try for it."

"Since we're essentially the underdogs, we have to rely on luck more than we should," said Tear logically, "It's a bad situation, but we'll just have to make do with what we have."

Luke grunted. Bad situation was right. They were miles away from Ion – not exactly close enough to protect him.

"We'll leave tomorrow, and head for the Fubras River since the bridge along the main route to Kaitzur is down," continued Jade, "From there, it's a clear path to Kaitzur. Any questions?"

"As long as you know where we're going, I'm fine," said Guy, "Now, I'm exhausted and I'm ready to hit the sack. Am I alone in this or...?"

Feeling fairly tired himself, Luke stretched and spread himself out on the bed he was sitting on. "I'm with you, Guy."

"Very well," said Jade, "Until the morning, Tear."

"Yeah, good night, Tear," said Luke from the bed, "Mieu, go keep her company for the night."

The cheagle eagerly followed Tear, who was slightly covering her face to hide her pleased smile. Luke caught it anyway and grinned self-contentedly.

There was a few minutes while the men prepared themselves for bed, and then the lights were turned off.

"Sleep well," said Guy, and no one spoke after that.

Still feeling somewhat aware, Luke stared at the ceiling under his covers. He was awake enough to think properly, to plan. Perhaps he could start this planning ahead he was supposed to have done already.

So, tomorrow they left for the Fubras River, then Kaitzur. At Fubras River, they had met with Arietta. They didn't fight her last time, but Luke decided it wouldn't hurt to prepare for a battle this time around anyway. After that... The miasma had come and Arietta was almost left for dead. She would've been if not for Ion. But Ion wasn't here, he was ahead. So Luke would have to defend her life.

Then Kaitzur. They had met with Van there... They had met with Van because Asch had attacked him! So Luke had to expect Asch to attack. And... Ugh, this was too much to predict! Luke gave up on the prediction thing. He was more or less ready for the next few physical attacks. But the half-hearted preparation for Kaitzur made Luke remember something.

On the Tartarus, Luke had been unable to contact Asch through their mind-link at all. Back in the original Auldrant, Luke hadn't exactly been able to speak to Asch at will, but after Yulia City, he had always been aware of the bond between them. He could only access the link with clear intention, but Luke hadn't felt the bond disappear when he entered this world. Now he couldn't find the link at all, but he still felt the bond in the back of his mind.

Luke was frustrated by this paradox, but he wasn't going to let it conquer him. If he could feel Asch there, he could contact him, he was sure of it. Thus Luke tried to find the mind link until he fell asleep. He came no closer to success than before.

* * *

Luke woke up by being shaken gently awake by Guy. He resisted whining about having to get up, and got ready quietly. Jade was the first one ready, but he stayed in the room, clearly concentrated on something as he sat on his bed. Guy was the next one ready, and he went to check on Tear to make sure she was awake. 

As he gathered his things together, Luke watched and wondered what Jade was doing. Then he realized the older man was trying to undo the lock of the fon slot seal. Luke zipped his bag shut, and sat on his bed, staring at Jade. The same as last time, the seal was his fault. Well, it was less his fault this time, he thought, but it would still be prudent to apologize or something.

Even though he was absorbed in the seal, Jade was still quite observant.

"What is it?" Jade inquired.

Luke glanced away, feeling both his guilt and the blush on his face. "Er, nothing, really, but..."

Jade waited patiently for Luke to finish his thought. He didn't say anything.

"How're you doing with the seal?" Luke asked, abruptly looking at Jade again.

"It's quite slow progress," answered Jade, "It's unsurprising considering the science, money, and effort put into making fon slot seals."

Luke nodded slowly, trying to put his guilty feelings and apology into words. "I'm sorry, Jade. It's at least partly my fault for that fon slot seal being put on you."

Jade studied Luke for a moment. "I'm finding myself somewhat impressed at your attitude, Luke. You're not what I expected from what I've heard about the son of House Fabre."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What have you heard about me?"

Jade shrugged airily. "Raised in a pampered household, completely isolated from the outside world, incredibly behind in an education befitting an aristocrat..."

Luke frowned in irritation. "Yeah, well, I lost my memory when I was - "

"But when I met you, you were somewhat respectful, knowledgeable, aware of what was going on around you, and had built a pro-life philosophy from somehow ending several lives."

Luke flushed, and turned almost the whole way around. "I was just checking on how you were doing."

"I'm sure," said Jade, and there was no denying that he was amused by Luke.

Guy stepped back into the room. "Tear's ready to go. Come on."

Jade nodded, and Luke began strapping on his bags and sword. Luke let Jade go first, his face still feeling too warm for comfort. Perhaps taking pity on him, Jade ignored it and took the lead of their group. (Tear sighed, probably feeling disappointed at not taking point.)

"On to the Fubras River, then," said Guy, and they went. Everyone except Jade waved to the guards on the way out, and then it was a quiet journey.

They followed the path for a good portion of the day. Everyone continually made small talk, but it was just a distraction to take their minds off of the fast, continual pace Jade had set. Luke had it worst, as his body wasn't as fit for endurance as he remembered, so he welcomed the distraction of chatter. Jade let the talk go on, but he had to stop it at least once when Luke and Tear started slowing down the group when they found a topic that actually held their interest. (It was about bioethics, which Luke thought was pretty pathetic if only they didn't enjoy debating so much. They each argued both sides of replication.)

They made it to Fubras River sooner than Luke remembered. Maybe it was because they were pushing a faster pace, and that was because they didn't have Ion with them, so they were much more driven to go farther.

Guy looked up at the giant spiraling rocks that marked the river's north bank and whistled. "Pretty impressive."

Luke glanced at them when Guy spoke and shrugged. "Yeah, they're cool, I guess."

"You guess?" joked Guy, more baffled than anything, "I thought you'd be excited to see things like this. It's like you've seen this before or something."

At this, Jade turned and looked at Luke with an odd expression on his face. Luke noticed this, and adrenaline shot through him. He started breathing quicker. _How do I cover this? Oh, uh... That geography book at home!_

"Well, I saw a picture of this in that one geography book at home," Luke said quickly, trying to calm down, "It's not that different in real life, really. I mean, a book will never get the height across to you, but I already saw that and..." Luke trailed off in his explanation when everyone else seemed to be buying it. Jade had turned around again and was continuing down to the actual river, and the other two were just behind him. When Luke trailed off, they started walking.

Luke breathed a silent sigh of relief and followed as the rearguard yet again. Now, he had to think of Arietta. There was probably not going to be a battle with her, but Luke kept his left hand on his hilt anyway.

Jade let the pace wind down a bit as they traversed the marshy ground of the river and into the river itself. Luke grumbled a bit when his legs got soaked up over his knees, but irritated looks from all three of the others shut him up pretty quickly.

They passed the river with only having to fight a few frog-like creatures, but the battles didn't strain any of them, which was lucky. If monsters happened to be stronger than Luke anticipated, there would be major problems. It would be completely out of the blue, for one thing, and it would mean that something had changed that Luke couldn't see. That thought scared Luke more than anything. If there was a problem, Luke would go and fix it as best as he could, but if he couldn't see what was causing the problem – well, there was a dilemma.

As they got farther and farther away from the river, Luke grew more and more tense. Everybody was ahead of him, so they didn't see nor comment, but Luke's hand around his sword hilt tightened with almost every step.

Then they stopped.

"It's Arietta the Wild!" said Tear with surprise. Jade looked grim.

There was a pause as Arietta looked at them and they looked back at her. Then Luke spoke, and walked up to the front of the group.

"Are you going to try and stop us, Arietta?" he asked softly.

Arietta stared at him, and pursed her lips hard enough to make them white. "Yes," she said firmly. She clutched her doll tightly.

"Why?"

"Because you killed Mommy."

Tear looked confused. "When did we kill a woman?"

"...The Liger Queen," said Luke with finality, "The queen must have raised her as her own."

"I thought that was just a rumour," said Guy, startled.

"Clearly, that is not the case," murmured Jade.

"We didn't want to kill her," Luke said to Arietta, "But if we didn't stop her, she and your little brothers and sisters would have wiped out Engeve."

"I don't care!" stormed Arietta, "You killed her!"

"We're very sorry," said Tear quietly, "We tried to talk to her."

"No, you just killed her! All the eggs are broken! You're all murderers!"

"Would murderers leave a gravemarker?" asked Luke, starting to think that a fight was unavoidable. This made Arietta pause for a second.

"I - " Before she could really think about it, a violent burst of purple clouds erupted from the ground, and Arietta fell to the ground, unconscious.


	6. Wheels Within Wheels

_**Title: Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Notes: **Does everyone know what Shadow from FFVI looks like? If you don't, go find a picture. That is basically what the weldur from last chapter looks like, if you cover Shadow's eyes. Thanks to all of my reviewers, and I know SoldierSteak wants to be recognized, so for all the times I kicked myself to go faster, it was him.

I've noticed that some of my reviewers have been mentioning being excited for the point when this world really truly diverges from the original Auldrant. I'm sure some of you can accurately guess at what this point it's going to be, but it won't be in the next few. Sorry for that, but don't get too antsy – it will happen.

One last thing before I leave you to the story. There's an RP forum who really needs more members. If you're interested in RP'ing or just a smaller forum base to chat, go to the ShadowFlame Alliance.

Http:// www (dot) phpbbserver (dot) com / shadowflamealli / index (dot) php?mforumshadowflamealli

Big thank you to every one of you who's reviewed, 'cause you're a huge inspiration to this writer.

* * *

Luke stared at the girl on the ground. The miasma was swelling all around them, but he didn't move. Jade grabbed his arm and started pulling him away from the miasma, but Luke jerked out of Jade's grip. 

"Luke, stop being a fool!" Jade shouted over the roar of the miasma, "We have to get out of here!"

"What about Arietta?" Luke responded just as loudly, "We can't just leave her to die!"

Jade stopped and the two were in a shouting match, each trying to be heard over the sound of the miasma filling the area. "She was trying to kill us!" said Jade.

"You don't know that!" shouted Luke, "We have to save her!" Luke ran towards the fallen girl and picked her up.

As he got closer to Arietta, he got closer to the miasma and felt more and more like throwing up, trying to scratch his eyes out and passing out. The purple vapours kept sweeping towards him, entering through his mouth, his nose, his eyes, his skin... Luke felt as though bugs were crawling through him, under his skin... It was so hard to pay attention and he felt so sick and filthy from the bugs in his blood... The bugs hurt... They were poking his skin - stop it, bugs, you hurt... There was a girl in his arms, how did she get there...? Where...was he going...?

Luke was distantly aware that his feet had stopped moving, and he vaguely frowned in confusion. This girl... He was - Lorelei, he felt _sick_ - moving... somewhere. Where was he moving?

Luke's stomach roiled viciously one last time before Luke just wasn't aware anymore.

* * *

Luke woke up feeling like he was recently run over by the Tartarus. Before he could think of anything else after that, he sat up and began vomiting. He turned himself over onto his hands and knees and began emptying his stomach, heaving over and over and over... When Luke couldn't bring up any more of his stomach contents, then came the bile. Then when he couldn't get rid of any more stomach acid, he began dry heaving and couldn't stop for several minutes. 

After that, Luke was finally finished. He was dazed, couldn't think straight, still nauseous, and his arms were trembling with the colossal effort of keeping himself up. He stayed on his hands and knees, trying to keep himself off of his huge pile of sick even though he already had it over his front, and just panted for breath.

From behind, hands and arms stronger than his own grabbed him under the armpits and helped him sit back down. Then Guy came into his vision and while holding Luke up, started cleaning off the vomit and bile with a cloth. As time went on, and Luke just stared at Guy or empty space, either one, and eventually he was allowed to lie down. He lay there, looking at the sky until Guy popped into his vision again. This time Guy just let him be and sat beside his head.  
Guy didn't say anything for a while, just kept Luke company with his bigger presence. Luke wished that he was little again so that Guy could actually pick him up and hug him like he was when he was sick at home. But he was big and tall now. Big and tall.

As his head cleared, Luke's eyes began tearing up as he remembered the miasma. He had never felt it so badly. He now knew what those people at Akzeriuth had felt. Lorelei, he hated the miasma. He loathed it, he despised it, he... He tried to calm down, but Luke couldn't stop _hating_ the miasma. Hate hate hate hate... The people at Akzeriuth had suffered and died because of him and the miasma. He was the miasma, oh Yulia, he _was the miasma_ and he _couldn't stop killing people_.

Guy laid a firm hand over Luke's eyes, and Luke realized that his body was tense and rigid and shaking. In a shaky breath, Luke exhaled and released as much tension as he could. He couldn't see but the darkness and pressure on his eyes was comforting.

"I hate the miasma, Guy," he whispered, whimpered, cried, "I hate it so much." Guy was here. He'd stop him from killing people.

* * *

Luke awoke again after several hours feeling much more alert and alive than he ever remembered in the last while. The pain was gone, he felt calm - it was good. He was lying on a grassy hill he recognized as still being close to the Fubras River. He looked to his left and saw the pile of sick he had left. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and sat up. As he began to stand up, he noticed some vomit in his long hair, making it stick together and crust. _Gross. _

"Luke!" called Guy. Luke turned around to see Guy run up to him. Guy came right up to him and threw his arms around Luke in relief. Luke hugged his best friend back as tightly as he could manage. After a moment, Guy let go and held him at arms length. "Are you okay?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, as far as I can tell. Just feeling... a bit disturbed."

Guy nodded seriously. "Yeah, well, the miasma is a disturbing thing." He once again grabbed Luke in a short hug, before dragging Luke away with an arm over his shoulders in case Luke felt weak again. He didn't - Luke felt fine. They went over a few hills, and after Guy saw that Luke wasn't about to collapse, let him walk freely.

"Everyone else is over just a few hills, at the edge of the ocean. That's where they're waiting," explained Guy.

"What about Tear?" asked Luke, slightly offended. Why wasn't Tear here?

Guy smiled at Luke in a way he couldn't decipher. "She's perfectly safe, and Jade wanted her to help with transporting Arietta to the port." Guy's expression became amused. "I don't think he thought he could trust her safe-being with Anise."

"...I thought Jade didn't care about Arietta being safe," said Luke slowly. That was certainly the impression he'd gotten. He'd been expecting Jade to just leave her on the hills to fend for herself but it didn't seem that way.

Guy stopped and gave Luke an incredulous look. "Luke, you..." The blond shook his head and exhaled roughly. "Jade only cares because you almost died trying to save the girl, and Tear spent half of the day and her energy actually keeping you from dying."

Luke blinked, but that scenario didn't seem possible. Almost died? No way. "Then why wasn't anyone there when I woke up?"

"Tear had stabilized you by then," said Guy, "and you know Jade. He wanted to push ahead."

"Right," said Luke, but it still didn't seem real.

The two men went on the port, and it took them until nightfall to get there. After it was dark, Guy wearily pushed them to the inn, and Luke followed him, even more tired. After speaking to the receptionist, Guy went to the assigned men's room where they'd report to Jade. When Guy opened the door, everyone was there.

Jade walked over to greet the two men. He stood and studied Luke closely, then nodded in satisfaction. "I'm glad to see you're up to form, Luke."

Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too, Jade." Luke heard Guy mutter something about Jade being cold from behind him, and smiled. Jade was cold, but... Tear came up.

"I'm happy to see you al - awake," Tear stumbled over her words.

"Happy to see me alive?" asked Luke ironically, "I think I have you to thank for my life."

"It was my duty," replied Tear, but her tone was far from cold. She smiled at Luke, but it wavered. Jade seemed to catch the run of the emotions in the room.

"I hate to say it, but it is very late," he said somewhat apologetically, "We have to get up to meet with Ion and Anise tomorrow."

"The never-ending mission," sighed Guy, and he tapped Luke's shoulder. Luke glanced over and Guy gestured to one of the beds. "Get in there, you're exhausted."

Luke nodded, and walked over, his feet dragging on the floor. Tear said her good-nights, and Luke once again commanded Mieu to keep her company. This time, Tear shyly directed her smile at Luke, who returned it. Then everyone settled into bed, all too tired to go through with their normal bedtime routines.

* * *

Jade woke them up early. He rushed them out of the port before they had properly finished breakfast. He pushed them at a harder pace than usual, and Luke, though tired, was able to keep up. He was able to keep his breath much easier than yesterday, and thanked Tear in his head again. She had done a great job of healing him. 

It was an exhausted group that arrived in Kaitzur that evening. In the middle of summer, it meant the sun was still shining brightly, but every one of them was feeling the consequences of their fast pace on the way here. Luke, thinking ahead, forced himself to watch the bridge overhead for signs of Asch, but his original was keeping himself hidden very well. Luke knew he was there, though, and so kept a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Keep an eye out for Ion, everyone," commanded Jade. Looking at him, Luke could see that the soldier might be even more prepared for surprises than he himself was. As they got closer to the bridge, Luke found that it was just the lone guards. Surprised, he automatically started searching the horizon for signs of Ion or Anise.

"Let's check the inn to be sure," suggested Jade, "We didn't specify which side of the border to meet on. They might be waiting on the Kimlasca side."

"Anise and Ion have passports?" asked Luke in confusion. Last time, there had been a whole mess right at the border because Anise didn't have one. Maybe she actually did but lost it when she fell off the Tartarus last time. Or maybe just being with the Fon Master and confirmed as a Guardian was enough to get her through.

"Yes," said Jade, looking at Luke oddly, "Soldiers, especially those in the Order of Lorelei, need passports for ease of travel. There's no reason why they wouldn't have one."

Embarrassed, Luke looked down. "Right."

"Don't be ashamed of what you don't know, Luke," said Tear firmly, "You're learning and asking questions. You can only gain from that, and no one will think less of you."

"Especially since you've been in the manor your whole life," added Guy, "It's impressive what you know already with your handicaps."

"I don't have handicaps," joked Luke half-heartedly, but he smiled to convince them he understood.

Jade led them to the inn, and asked if the Fon Master and his Guardian were in or had passed through.

"Yes," said the soldier innkeeper, and gestured them through.

"Colonel!" a familiar voice exclaimed when they walked through, and a thirteen year old girl they all knew and loved leaped at the group in joy. At no one in particular.

"Anise!" greeted Luke, smiling, "How have you been?"

"It was _so hard_," gushed Anise enthusiastically, "But I survived, and more importantly, Ion and the letter did, too!"

"That's great news!" said Tear, and she smiled at Anise and Ion, who was quietly grinning at them in the back.

"Congratulations," said Jade in an obviously affected sincere tone, and Anise scowled at him.

"Don't be so mean, Colonel!" She sniffed and turned away from him. Then she saw Guy.

"Who's this?" she asked curiously. She held out a hand for him to shake while surveying him semi-discreetly for obvious signs of wealth. "I'm Anise Tatlin."

"I'm Guy Cecil," said Guy. He looked at her hand, and looked nervously at Luke to help explain. "Your hand... I can't... I mean..."

"Anise," said Luke softly, not sure of how to handle this, "Guy has a phobia of women."

Anise looked more confused than ever, although she did withdraw her hand. "What do you mean, a phobia of women? What kind of man has a phobia of women?"

"I didn't know that," murmured Tear. Luke looked at her, and realized that he had never introduced Guy formally to the group. They hadn't had time because Jade had always been pushing to get to Kaitzur so they could actually get to Ion, and there was no need by the time they had reached St. Binah. And so Guy never had reason to go that close to Tear and Tear hadn't had reason to go close to him.

"Oh, yeah," said Luke, fully realizing the situation, "I didn't mention that. I'm sorry." He also looked at Guy for permission, and Guy nodded. "From when he was very little, Guy has been deathly afraid of touching women. He doesn't know why, but it's... tortuous for him if a woman comes into contact with him." Luke chose his words hoping that Guy would have to suffer as little teasing as possible about it. Even though teasing him had been kinda fun.

"Why?" asked Anise, still bewildered by this.

"I have no idea," said Guy calmly, "I know it happened when my family... died, but a part of my memory is missing. Until the day I remember, I won't know why."

"That's terrible," said Ion softly, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Guy responded lightly, "If I can't remember why, I can't really get offended by it."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," said Anise, stubbornly trying to get the conversation back under control. Guy smiled at her and said, "It's nice to meet you, too, Anise."

"And I'm pleased to meet you, too, Guy," said Ion and he walked up to shake Guy's hand. Guy shook his hand and smiled nervously. "So you're the Fon Master?"

Ion sighed (pleasantly). "Yes, but please just call me Ion. I already have everyone else calling me Ion, so it's not an issue for more people."

"Very well," said Guy, and then almost all of the business was taken care of.

"What's happening with tonight?" asked Tear.

"Yeah, we're not moving on, are we?" asked Luke. He wasn't sure what that would mean. Moving on would mean that they would miss both Asch and Van. Meeting Asch would be good, in a way, but meeting Van would be bad. Bad in the sense that Luke was unprepared for him, and he didn't know if he ever would be fully prepared. How would Van expect him to act after a couple weeks of being away from home? It wasn't that he hated Van, but if he ever found out... Luke was stuck between missing the man and being scared of him.

"I'll confirm that we have beds for tonight," said Jade, and with the air of weariness, he trudged over to the front, but Luke didn't think anyone bought his act. He wasn't even bothering to quiet his joking muttering of how the youth of today never volunteered to take the burdens away from such old folk as himself... Laughing inside, Luke stopped listening, and went over to Ion.

"How was the trip?" Luke asked him with some concern, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm perfectly fine," said Ion, smiling, "Anise is a very good outdoorswoman." Leave it to Ion to be politically correct.

"Well, that's good," said Luke in relief. He didn't know what to expect. He had never gone camping with just Anise. Maybe being the only one in charge made her more responsible, because Luke remembered all sorts of camping mishaps last time with 'Anise' written all over them.

"What about you?" asked Ion, "You seem to be doing well. You have a darker look now."

Luke laughed and self-consciously picked at the black jacket he was wearing. "Yeah, I guess. The wound is a scar now, and I got some money from our travel fund for new clothes."

"Very good," Ion nodded, and around this time, the group as a whole decided to sit down or lay down and rest. Luke was one of the ones laying down on a bed and he went over the trip from St. Binah to Kaitzur. Was there anything he had missed? There was something... off about the meeting with Arietta, disregarding the entire incident with the miasma. Arietta was actually starting to listen to him, but that wasn't it. What was different?

Still thinking about it, Luke cast his eyes around the room, looking at everybody. Jade, just walking back into the room, had acted much the same. Guy had been the same. Ion hadn't been there. Tear had the same concerns as last time... Wait! Yulia's hymns! Tear hadn't used the hymn to protect them, they had just run away. Maybe that meant that the miasma wasn't as bad this time around, or maybe they had gotten there sooner because of Jade's strict pace.

"Tear..," said Luke uncertainly, "You... You know Yulia's hymns?" It was half a question, half a statement. Of course Luke knew that Tear knew the hymns, but no one else really did, and Luke needed to sound like he was just figuring this out himself just now.

Tear's head whipped around to face Luke. "How did you know that?"

"I saw you, I think," said Luke, trying to remember when he had seen her actually use a hymn. At the manor, right. "When you first came to the manor. That was a hymn, wasn't it?"

"Well, yes," confessed Tear. She sounded unbalanced, caught off guard.

"Yeah, I remember that," said Guy, scratching his chin thoughtfully, "I heard someo - well, you, singing and then I just couldn't keep my eyes open. It was a mix of falling asleep on the spot and getting knocked out."

"Yes, that is the first of Yulia's hymns," explained Tear, "I also know the second."

"Which one is that?" asked Jade curiously, and the soldier also sat down to listen. Luke remembered Jade being fascinated with the hymns and their relation to the descendants of Yulia.

"It's called Force Field. It creates a shield, an impregnable shield around whomever I choose." Tear seemed embarrassed with all of the attention.

"Do you know any others?" asked Guy, "Is there any truth to the rumour of a Grand Hymn?" Luke was unnerved to see how unreadable Guy's face was. _Of course. Guy already knows about the hymns from Van. He's trying to hide it._

"No, no others, but the Grand Hymn does exist," answered Tear, "But I don't know it. I'm learning." She offered that last sentence, perhaps to try and placate everyone's interest.

"Guy knows more than he's telling about this all," mused Jade, "Tear, I thought Yulia's hymns were only passed on through her direct descendants."

"..." Tear held a hand to her head. "Can we discuss this another time? We're all tired and everyone will benefit from a full night's sleep."

Jade didn't seem to want to let it go. "Dodging the issue? Come, now, you can't be that tired."

Luke spoke up, defending Tear. "Let's leave it for another time, Jade. It's not like Tear's going to cop out on us. She just wants to be prepared for it all."

Jade shot an exasperated look at Luke and sighed. "I really don't know why you must block me at every turn, Luke. It's starting to get quite tiresome."

"Oh, Jade, if you only knew," muttered Luke, and he made it into a joke by smirking. It fell off of his face the moment Jade turned away. "I'm with Tear. I'm tired. We have a full day to talk tomorrow."

"Fine," agreed Guy, and he started getting ready for bed. Anise complied, but grumbled under her breath the whole time. Ion cheerfully helped her pack a bit, and then got ready himself.

"Thank you," Tear said to Luke, who immediately felt somewhat pleased with himself. Then feeling himself blush, Luke turned away towards his own things and started putting things away. He pulled off his outer clothes and climbed into his bed without changing. He hadn't bought any pajamas after all.

"Aren't you going to wash your clothes?" asked Guy with concern. Luke looked up in some surprise.

"Yeah, but... Later." Luke let his head fall back onto the pillow to emphasize his unwillingness to move.

Guy shook his head in despair. "If you say so." The blond man left the room with his small bunch of dirty clothing.

With Guy gone, Luke found himself with quiet, and spare time until the lights were turned off. So he set himself on the same task he did every night. He tried to contact Asch. He knew at this point, by straining his memory until he had headaches, that Asch would be discovering Van's plan around this time and would try to use Luke against him. Or wait, was that partly because they had met in Kaitzur? But they'd already missed meeting Asch and Van here... Luke shook his head. That wasn't the issue. He had to keep trying to talk to Asch.

He got marginally farther tonight than other nights. Instead of diving right into finding the link, Luke studied the bond in the back of his mind. Through it, he knew that Asch was awake, tired, grumpy, frustrated and determined. He didn't know anything other than Asch's emotions, but it was a start to contacting him. Maybe the process would go easier if their feelings matched. Luke had awake, tired, and determined filled out already, but he was actually in quite a peaceful mood, unlike Asch. Try as he might, Luke couldn't make himself grumpy, although he knew he was well on his way to becoming frustrated at the lack of progress with the stupid link.

Using his emotions and the bond wasn't doing anything. So Luke used the mental equivalent of a battering ram, trying to force the symbolic doors of the link open. It didn't work. Over and over, Luke tried breaking this mental door down, tried slipping around it, and even tried finding another way into Asch's mind. Nothing worked. Long after the lights were turned off, Luke finally gave up for the night, feeling frustrated and cheated.

* * *

Perhaps because they had caught up to Ion, Jade let everyone sleep in for a little the next morning. Able to naturally wake up at around nine o'clock, Luke found himself thinking very kindly of the man for the favour. Everyone else was already up at that point besides Anise, but from past experience, Luke figured that Anise must've gotten up already, but allowed herself to sleep again when Jade let her know she could sleep in that morning. 

Eventually when everyone was ready to move on (Jade wasn't lax enough to let them sleep away the whole morning), Jade explained his reasoning a little. His exact words ran somewhere along the lines of "We have Ion, we have the letter, so we better let Luke sleep before he falls over in battle from sleep deprivation and end up stabbing himself." Luke ignored both the poking and the fact that Jade knew he was lying awake at nights and simply accepted the gift of extra sleep.

So the group got on the way, with Ion in the middle of the fighters and Anise close by his side. They came to the actual crossing. The plan was to have Luke reveal his identity so he could get permission for Tear and himself to cross without passports, and fall back on general permission from the Fon Master if it came to that. But before they could approach the border guards proper, they had to approach the overhang of the border.

And all Luke could think of when a familiar redhead nearly landed on him with sword drawn was that he was glad his hand was already resting on his sword hilt. Asch had leapt down, and nobody had noticed until he was already on top of Luke, Luke included. Luke couldn't even form a cuss in his head because the attack had come so suddenly. When he successfully parried the initial attack by instinct and consciously dueled with Asch for a few moments, Luke began to think clearly again.

_Idiot!_ he said to himself, _Paying attention so well yesterday, and then forget to do it again!_ He pushed his negative thoughts down. They weren't healthy, he ought to know that at this point.

"Asch, wait!" he called to the other man, and then stopped himself. If Asch was here, that meant...

Just as he thought, Van swooped down moments after the fight started and locked blades with Asch. Luke stumbled backwards, his sword still drawn. He was actually doing pretty well against Asch. Well, he had proved to be the better swordsman in Eldrant, but this was a new world.

"Asch!" said Van firmly to the darker redhead, "What are you doing here?"

But Asch ignored him, and firmly locked stares with Luke. Luke stared back calmly, not allowing his eyes to widen automatically at Asch's fierce emotions. Asch was angry, yes... But when Asch looked at Luke, there was also some minute caution, like he wasn't sure that it was really Luke staring back at him.

_Maybe he knows I've been trying to contact him_, though Luke hopefully. Without words, he tried to convey his goal to him. He again tried to the access the link, or the bond, or both, but -

"Asch!" Van angrily repeated, "Stand down!" In a blink, Asch broke off his stare from Luke's and jumped away. Van watched him run, before he finally sheathed his sword and turned to the distracted Luke.

"Luke," Van said warmly, "You were doing well against Asch. I'm impressed with how you've grown."

Irrationally pleased to see him, but also feeling unsettled at having to deal with Van after so long, Luke stuttered through a response. "Uh, thanks. It doesn't feel like, I dunno, like I've changed very much, though."

Van studied him like an uncle or close friend of the family would. "Well, it's quite obvious, Luke."

Tear interrupted with an angry shout. "Van!" Luke turned to look at her. She was furious, and had knives lifted to throw at him. Luke saw Van's eyes soften when he laid eyes on her.

"Mystearica," he said softly, "Don't fight. Come to the inn. I'll explain myself there." He started walking back to the inn they had just come from. Tear froze in readiness, watching him closely as he passed. But he simply went to the inn.

Once he was in the building, everybody turned to Tear. She put her knives away, looking distraught.

"Tear?" asked Guy, "What was that about?"

"He's your brother, isn't he?" asked Ion calmly. Tear whipped around in consternation.

"How do you - oh, I suppose you'd know," muttered Tear, "Yes, Dorian General Van Grants is my big brother."

Everyone minus Luke blinked in unison.

"Your _brother_?" repeated Guy incredulously, "Van never mentioned having a sister before..."

"Whoa," murmured Anise in surprise, "I didn't see that one coming."

Luke decided to face this hurdle head-on so he wasn't always defending himself. "I think I kinda suspected," he said slowly, "Maybe it was the hair colour, who knows. But I just felt you two were closer than you let on."

Tear looked back at Luke, studied him carefully for a moment, and then nodded. Luke nodded back, and shrugged somewhat apologetically at her. Jade recovered the quickest.

"Well, let's go hear what he has to say," Jade suggested, before he followed Van into the inn. Luke made sure Tear was okay before he followed Jade to go confront Van. Van was waiting for them by the beds.

"You came," he said when they had all entered. He didn't turn around.

"Why are you here?" asked Tear furiously.

"Stopping the God-Generals," said Van smoothly, "They are under orders of Mohs to capture the Fon Master. That cannot be allowed."

"Aren't you under the command of Grand Maestro Mohs as well?" asked Jade indifferently, "Why aren't you following his orders?"

"I am loyal to the Fon Master," Van said stiffly, "I will protect him from those who mean him harm, even if the threat comes from within our own order."

"Before we talk about who's under who's command," said Guy, "can we discuss what Mohs is actually trying to do? I know that he's trying to get Ion, but for what, I have no idea. What are we trying to stop Mohs from doing?"

"Starting a war," simplified Anise, "essentially."

Van nodded. "She's right. Mohs is trying to initiate war between Malkuth and Kimlasca, and it will go that much easier if he can keep Ion, the objective mediator, away from all proceedings."

Tear seethed at these words, but didn't say anything; it was an admirable show of will. Luke thought he understood what she was thinking. For a very long time, Tear had been loyal to Mohs. At this point, Tear believed that Mohs would never cause a war, and that it was all Van.

"But why would Mohs want war?" wondered Guy.

"Mohs doesn't want war," interjected Tear angrily, "Mohs only has peaceful intentions. It's Van who's trying to start the war."

Van sighed in disappointment. "Are you still saying that? The God-Generals may listen to me, but Mohs has even higher authority. I am with the Fon Master faction, so obviously, my goals and those of Mohs differ."

Luke wished that Van wasn't lying. It was obvious from Luke's perspective, but he forced himself to accept the truth - for all intents and purposes, Van was their enemy. Luke wanted to try and convince him to stop this, but it hadn't worked last time... It was depressing.

"Liar," growled Tear, "You command the God-Generals first and foremost."

"And they are part of the Grand Maestro faction," countered Van, "And you, Tear, are under Mohs' command in the intelligence division, are you not? Is it not true that you are currently on mission for Mohs as we speak?"

As eyes turned to Tear, she drew herself up to defend herself. "I assure you, Mohs and my mission are completely peaceful. I'm looking for something."

"The Seventh Fonstone?" asked Van, but it was clear that he was no longer really asking, but now putting Tear on the defensive. A long time ago, Luke would have felt vindicated by this, but now he had to put Tear above Van. He felt angry on Tear's behalf.

"...I can't say," said Tear, and she glared at her brother.

Guy whistled. "The Seventh Fonstone..."

Tear ground her teeth. "Maybe. Maybe not."

There was an awkward silence before Jade started speaking logically. "What about passports?" he asked Van. As good as Luke's and Ion's word was, it was still no guarantee of passage across the border.

Van reached into his pocket and pulled out several passports. "Gifts from Duke Fabre," he said, "but temporary." He handed them to Guy, who was closest. "There should be enough for all of you."

"Thank you," said Ion gratefully, and Van nodded. "Now that your passage is confirmed, I'll go on ahead to the Kaitzur Naval Port and get a ship ready."

"We'll see you at the naval port, then," said Guy.

"Try not to get lost," Van said ironically, and he left.

There was a pause as everyone tried to recover from that.

"...Am I the only one here who doesn't trust him?" asked Tear dully.

Luke sensed an opportunity. "I never thought I would be saying this," he agreed, "but... something seems off about this whole situation." He again wished that what he was going to argue would be a lie.

"Like what?" asked Anise.

Luke shrugged. "It seems too convenient that when Ion mysteriously disappears, Van goes missing when he should already know about the real reason Ion disappeared, which is Mohs kidnapping him. Now even if Van _is_ with the Fon Master faction, he should have still heard about this and known where to go. I mean, they may try to keep information from him, but Van didn't get to where he is by not being able to find things out. I mean, Van's a genius."

Luke paused, to make sure everyone was still with him.

"And the God-Generals. Sure they're supposed to follow Mohs over Van, but from what I've uh, read, I think they're more loyal to their commandant than the Grand Maestro." Luke mentally checked everything he had said. "Okay, some of my reasoning is pretty weak. But it just doesn't sit right."

"Well spoken," said Jade, "but I'm going to have to withhold my opinion on the matter for now. Shall we leave?" There were nods all around, and the group as one left the inn.

As they passed the border, Tear sidled up to Luke and started walking beside him.

"Thank you for siding with me," she said quietly, "It's a petty reason to be grateful, but..."

"No, it isn't," said Luke seriously, "I know what it's like to have nobody on your side. I think it's a good thing to be supported."

Tear nodded, blushing a little, but she smiled up at Luke. Funny, Luke hadn't noticed he was taller than her before, not really... He stood straighter, feeling taller than normal for some reason. He vaguely noticed Guy grinning at something out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't really care.

When they got onto the Kimlasca side of the border, they all noticed a difference in atmosphere.

"It's really tense here," said Anise wonderingly, "War must be closer than we thought."

"All the more reason to hurry," said Ion firmly, "We must not allow the worst to happen."

* * *

So they traveled to the Kaitzur Naval Port. Jade, controlling the pace, set it the lightest it'd been since St. Binah. For this, Luke was grateful - to both Jade and Ion. Once Jade had achieved an objective, he relaxed. Ion (and the letter) were the objective, so Luke had achieved more than a traveling companion. 

It didn't take that long from the border, so that may have been a factor in Jade's decision to keep the pace lower.

Soon, in one afternoon, they pulled into the naval port, but there was something wrong. Black, acrid smoke was rising from the port, and could be seen from minutes away.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Ion worriedly.

"Let's not dawdle," said Jade, and he led the group into the town area. When they arrived at the harbour, there was an interesting scene. Van had his sword drawn on Asch and Arietta both, with a crushed and burning ship in the background. They arrived in time to hear Van speak.

"What have you done?" Van roared angrily, keeping his blade pointing straight and unwavering at Asch. Asch didn't respond verbally, just glared sullenly at the man. Arietta fidgeted, looking on the point of tears.

"Arietta," said Van, "Why have you done this?"

Arietta shuffled her feet, looking down. "Asch asked me to," she mumbled, "I thought it was what you wanted."

"I'm not sure that I believe you," Van responded coldly, "but if you surrender to me without a fight, the consequences will be less severe." Arietta looked up at Van and then glanced at Asch nervously, biting her bottom lip. Asch looked at her, and gave her a meaningful look. Arietta nodded at him, and walked towards Van.

"I will," she said shakily, and retreated behind Van. Then Van could focus his full attention on the red-haired God-General; he kept his sword pointing at Asch.

"Why have you betrayed me, Asch?" Van asked calmly. Asch once again said nothing, and just glared.

"I'm waiting for an answer, Asch!" Van shouted.

Asch decided not to wait any longer. He walked away from Van and towards the group. Van let him go, seeing the others, and perhaps presuming they would stop him. No one made any move towards Asch as he walked closer and closer to... Luke. Luke blinked in surprise as Asch approached and stood next to him. At the tail end of the group, no one could read Asch's lips, and only Luke could hear him.

"I don't know how you're doing it, but come to Choral Castle to finish the process." Luke whirled to see Asch eye to eye, but Asch avoided his gaze by looking down, glaring at their feet.

"Asch, you know I'v - " Luke started, but Asch cut him off.

"Shut up. In case that doesn't make you come, the head engineer of the shipyard is our hostage and is also waiting for you at Choral Castle. Bring Ion." And that being that, Asch walked off, leaving Luke feeling confused and elated at the same time. At the same time, he heard a huge flutter of feathers and wind, and they saw Arietta fly away by way of griffin. Everyone watched her fly east, in the direction of Choral Castle. Van watched her leave with a blank expression on his face, and then slowly came up to them before Luke had a chance to explain to the others what was happening.

Van followed Asch's footsteps and came right up to Luke. Van stared hard at him, and Luke's happily confused feelings were shoved down in face of his sudden fear and apprehension.

"Luke," said Van, his tone suddenly imposing, "What did he say to you?" He was near thundering. Luke flinched and coiled back a bit. His thoughts kept alternating between blanking out entirely, leaving him floundering or spinning a thousand miles an hour into downright bizarre answers. Eventually, he repeated the important part of what Asch had said.

"They, um, have the head, er, engineer at Choral Castle. We, me and Ion, have to go save him. Or, um, I think he, uh, dies." Luke finished feeling unsure if Van would simply accept that or if he would press for more. Van stared at him, and then nodded. His presence faded from imposing and threatening to normal.

"We don't have time," Van announced, "We must press on to Baticul."

"Before we start making plans, may I ask where Choral Castle is?" Jade inquired. Guy looked at Luke before answering.

"It's where we found Luke when he was kidnapped seven years ago," said Guy, "It was Duke Fabre's old vacation home."

Jade nodded. "An interesting bit of information." He, too, examined Luke for a moment before returning his attention to Van. "So what would you have us do? We obviously can't get to Baticul by sea."

"Not for a while, anyway," said Van, "I'd like for you all to return to the border while I stay here and handle Asch and Arietta."

"I suppose that'd be a good idea," said Guy reluctantly.

"But we'll be ignoring Asch's demands," protested Anise gently, "The engineer will be - "

"War is a bigger threat than the death of one engineer," interrupted Van just as gently, "We must prevent it at all costs."

The group as a whole reluctantly agreed and turned around to leave. Luke knew that they were going to Choral Castle no matter what, or he was going on his own at least, so he didn't share as much of the unsure feelings of the others. Looking at the others faces, he could see they felt unsure, and somewhat guilty. But no one said anything. They were far too mature to speak up if they thought what was happening was immoral, thought Luke sardonically. They thought they were being mature and grown-up people, who accepted things that came their way, but they didn't seem to realize that it was wrong to let people die. Van and the Score both desperately needed to be stopped, or else everyone would be the kidnapped engineer - sacrificed for the "greater good".

Luckily for the group's guilty consciences, they were stopped right before they left the naval port.

"Wait! Fon Master!" A group of engineers ran up to them, out of breath and distressed.

"What business do you have with the Fon Master?" Anise asked, presenting herself to them in between Ion and the engineers.

"Fon Master Ion, our head maintenance chief was kidnapped by the God-Generals! You have to save him!" one of them said. He worriedly tugged on his hair, trying to relieve stress.

The second one spoke right after him. "Please, the maintenance chief upholds the Score faithfully! His Score this year foretold no disasters or calamities! He can't die!"

This changed minds in the group.

"We must save this man," stated Ion firmly.

"I agree," said Tear, sounding heartfelt, "We can't ignore the Score."

Luke exchanged looks with Jade, and shrugged. Jade seemed to accept the decision and nodded. "Very well," Jade said, "We're going to Choral Castle. I was somewhat interested anyway."

"Sorry for making this longer than it has to be, Luke," said Guy apologetically.

Luke grinned and shrugged carelessly. "It shouldn't be all that bad. Besides, maybe my memory will be jolted or something."

Guy smiled. "That's the way to be positive."

* * *

Jade was in no rush to get to Choral Castle. "The ship can't be repaired _that_ fast," was his logic and everyone agreed. They traveled the forest and plains and saw the castle in days. 

"So," said Guy on one of their rests, "do you really think this is going to jog back some of your memories, Luke?"

Luke had paused, not knowing what to say. He thought about it. "Well, to tell you the truth, I don't have high hopes," he said to Guy slowly. Well, that was the truth. As a replica, he didn't have the memories in the first place. "Even though it was the last thing before my memory starts, it was probably the most traumatic memory that might be in my head. Today's psychology says that without help, my most traumatic memories are going to be the ones my mind tries the hardest to hide."

Guy nodded in sympathy.

"Maybe not _exactly_ today's psychology," said Jade quietly from his place sitting on a fallen log. Everyone ignored him, but they got the point.

"So, Luke," started Ion, and Luke turned to look at the boy. "Why exactly _do_ you have repressed memories?"

Luke thought about this and then said, "I was kidnapped." Even though he'd like to talk like before, with everyone knowing that he was only seven years old (Luke counted and realized that he was nine), that just wasn't possible without giving everything away and bringing a painful death upon himself via suspicious Oracle Knights.

"By whom?" inquired Ion. The boy arranged himself more comfortably so he could see Luke better.

"Malkuth," said Luke, hesitating a bit. He avoided looking at Jade - he didn't do it, after all. He wished he could tell the truth, and then wondered if any of them could tell he was lying. "When I was little; ten years old. I disappeared for a few months, and then was found in Choral Castle, I guess. I don't actually remember it. The first memory I have is in the manor, after I had been brought back. That was... seven years ago." _Nine_. "So, now I'm... seventeen - " _Nine. Nineteen?_ _Do I add years to seven or seventeen?_ _Everyone counted me as seventeen before even after they knew I was a replica._ " - but I only have seven years of experience." _Nine years._

"Do you have proof that it was Malkuth who kidnapped you?" asked Jade.

Luke shrugged in response. "It's what I was told."

Jade nodded distractedly as he appeared to be thinking hard about something.

"Anything else?" Luke asked. Nobody answered. Luke smiled a bit, and they finished their rest.

As they got closer to Choral Castle, they noticed more and more of its state. It was rundown, falling apart and generally filthy. Luke sighed when they got to the arch marking the official entrance. _I guess I should planning ahead or something now. This is where... I was tricked and then Sync was here. And he did something in the replication machine, he... He opened the link to Asch! I'll be able to talk to him after this, that's what Asch meant at the port!_

When Luke realized this, he got a rush of adrenaline. Things were going to change when he could keep in contact with Asch; they were going to change a lot.

"In we go," he whispered and he took the lead, into the castle and all the acts it would bring.

* * *

Something I tried to write with the miasma is that it's not like other physical ailments, and it's my interpretation, so don't take it for canon. You'll notice how fast Luke recovered, like in the next day? Part of that is thanks to Tear's healing, but also an indicator of how the miasma works. The miasma is fast-acting, but short-lasting. If there's not constant exposure to it, then it won't affect a person as much. My take on it, anyway. 

If you count, Luke seriously is nine. Really.


	7. The Castle of Voices

_**Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Note: **Chapter's a little late, but school was being killer, I was sick and I can't concentrate on writing when I'm sick, and I'm now addicted to Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance.

A super special thank you to all of my reviewers this chapter. As a reader, I know how hard it is to write a few words saying what you think, but to those who took the time - I appreciate it deeply. You guys not only make me write faster, but you make me want to write faster. So thank you. More special thank you to two specific reviewers: Weasel Debater and SoldierSteak. You're being singled out for asking those inconvenient questions and making sure I know what I'm doing story-wise. You keep me on my toes. Thanks, guys.

It occurs to me that I enjoy putting Luke in states of mind other than conscious. I'm not sure what to make of this.

* * *

Luke led the group tentatively through Choral Castle. He wrinkled his nose; it was just as dusty and grime-covered as he remembered. Together they walked through the main hall, and all collectively stopped to look around. 

"Well, this is charming," said Jade.

Luke shot him a sarcastic look. "Thanks for the input."

"It certainly has fallen far since its zenith," commented Tear, "Why was it abandoned?"

"In the Hod War," answered Guy, "Malkuth borders were getting closer and closer and so it was abandoned when enemy forces advanced too close."

"Ah," said Tear and she looked around more carefully. Luke looked at the room which started the path to the replication machine and the stairs leading to the roof.

"Let's go to the study," he suggested, and pointed forward.

Jade shrugged. "As good a place as any to start looking around."

As they walked towards what have been the study, a huge statue began moving and shifted towards them.

"Battle positions," commanded Jade, and they got into formation. Luke and Guy took the front and covered the others, Anise in the middle, while Jade and Tear got into casting positions from the back.

They were a talkative bunch in battle, Luke noticed for what must have been the millionth time in his life. It was something that the groups in both worlds shared; this close, informal chatter while dodging blades and fonic artes. Luke certainly didn't notice anyone else do it. Military officers were often too coordinated and disciplined to speak like they did, and most mercenaries moved in groups numbering no more than three which allowed smaller need for the battle talk.

"Watch your left, Guy!"

"Dodge that, dodge that!"

"They've split, watch out!"

"Apple Gel, please!"

"Kinda need help here, Tear!"

There was no mindless blather over unintentional rhymes, or what seemed like silly things to say in any other situation. They were fighting to keep their own lives, after all. Even though it was chatter, one could hear the almost desperate undertones in one listened hard enough. Luke didn't know what to think about this, but he thought he liked it.

After a few minutes of battle, the animate statue and its chair stopped moving and collapsed into rubble. Luke dropped his shoulders in relief and sheathed his sword.

"This place is _weird_," announced Anise, bringing Tokunaga back down to size. Ion nodded and walked back to Anise's side from where he had been hanging back.

"No kidding," said Luke. He glanced around, smiling slightly, and thought about the replication machine. Just a little while longer, then he could get a plan together with Asch to stop Van.

In the study, they all stopped and stared at the door covered with black mist and a glowing purple orb at the top. With two lines, that purple orb was connected to two empty holes, which were connected to a single orb slot at the bottom. The logic of the door was simple: fill the holes and gain entrance.

"...Huh," said Guy, stumped, "What is it, do you think?"

"Who knows?" said Tear, a little frustrated, "It's a puzzle of some sort, but what do we do to get in?"

"Well," said Jade logically, "A door you can't get through is a locked door. To get through a locked door, one needs a key."

"But the key could be anywhere!" exclaimed Anise, "We could be searching the castle forever!"

"I don't think so," said Ion, "The mist doesn't look like it was built into the castle. I bet whatever did this is still hanging around."

"Good thinking, Ion," said Anise and she looked up, as if seeing through the ceiling into the stairs and hallways above.

"Well, let's not waste time," said Luke cheerfully, and he walked out. Guy followed him quickly.

"You're being really unconcerned about this whole thing, Luke," said Guy with some worry, "Aren't you excited that you might remember something?"

"Logically," started Luke, never faltering in his walk up the stairs, "the more I see, the more chance I'll remember. There's nothing yet, but if I keep going, I'm increasing my chances. Besides - " Luke slowed to turn to Guy more easily, " - like I said, I'm not too hopeful about this whole remembering thing at this point. It's more like exploring a new place than discovering something I knew."

"That explains something, then," said Guy ruefully, and he fell back to follow Luke.

"So what's your plan, Luke?" asked Jade, coming up beside the redhead.

"I was kinda thinking just looking into rooms for things that obviously don't belong, from here to the roof," said Luke distractedly, looking into a room at that moment. "If there's nothing, then recheck all the rooms, top to bottom."

"Uncouth," muttered Jade, but he didn't change the plan. So that's what they did, up until Tear pointed out a certain monster that had a glowing ball at its center.

"What's that?" she asked. Everyone kept a healthy distance from it as they studied it from afar.

"It looks like the center in the body would fit part of the lock in the door," said Jade, "Let's go take a closer look, shall we?" Everyone silently agreed by walking up and preparing for battle.

Battles with ghosts and poltergeists were easy. Luke barely even got the chance to hit it before Anise and Tear had quickly demolished it with their Rem artes. Then the glowing blue ball dropped to the ground with a quiet clink. Luke walked over and picked it up, feeling the cool, glassy orb between his fingers. He stared at it for a moment, seeing the others behind him reflected in the surface before turning around and taking it over to them.

"Think this is foreign enough to be one of the keys?" asked Luke, showing it to everyone in the palm of his hand.

"It looks like it fits," agreed Guy, "but there were three holes. There have to be others."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Anise impatiently, "We still have the rest of the castle to find the others!"

So they explored the castle for the better part of a day. They went up and down stairs, into various rooms, onto balconies, and around closets. There were downright monsters wandering the place. There were small ghosts walking around like puppies, and walking statues and huge bats, all of which they found creepy.

"Like a horror novel," Anise commented after a battle with a statue and the small ghost puppies.

"I didn't know you read those kind of books," commented Guy, "but I'm somehow not surprised."

As the group found more and more of the glowing orbs, Luke began to think. Last time, Arietta and Dist had kidnapped him, on the roof, by separating him from the others. Or rather, they had taken advantage of him separating himself from the group. Maybe it would go faster if he did it now... But he still wanted to go towards the basement with the machine, not randomly roam the castle and hope for them to capture him soon. A middle road occurred to him. He could go far, far ahead. He could run to the basement _now_ instead of waiting for the others, and Arietta and Dist would likely make the move on their own. But they might not even know he was there until they got past the door, and on the roof.

Luke decided to stick to what happened last time. He would have to wait, but all he had to do was run forward, towards Dist when they reached the roof.

Thinking about all this conveniently occupied Luke until all of the glowing orbs were obtained, though when he looked back, Luke realized that they could have returned to the study a while ago, seeing as they had gotten the red orb already. So Luke (patiently) waited for the group to return to the study.

When they got to the door in the study, Guy tried out orbs in the three slots. Luke resisted saying anything about the puzzle and just watched his friend try it. Yellow, blue, red... Yellow, red, blue... Red, yellow, blue... Red, blue - before he could put the yellow into the third, empty bottom slot, the red and blue orbs reacted and slid together. Becoming purple the closer they got to each other, they finally matched the original purple orb perfectly and the entire door simply disappeared. The yellow orb shattered in Guy's hand.

"Whoa!" gasped Guy, and he shook the dead shards from his gloved hand. It cut through his gloves a little, but Tear pronounced Guy to be fine after inspecting it as carefully as she could while a safe distance away.

"Then let's continue," said Ion, "Who knows what state the engineer is in now?"

"Yeah," declared Luke, "We can't wait!"

Taking his opportunity, Luke ran ahead, leaving the others behind him. He could hear their confused shouts behind him, and their half-hearted steps after him, but he just sprinted on. As he ran down the stairs, he used all of his skill to dodge the animated statues and ghosts. He didn't even have to draw his sword, but simply weaved around their advances. He knew this would buy him some time from his friends, as they would stop and fight them. He felt a little guilty about leaving them without so much as an explanation, but he brushed those feelings away. This was for the greater good, and he was willing to suffer a reputation of recklessness to make sure they never discovered his information of the future. Much better to be thought reckless than having to explain things.

He came upon the replication machine. Much to his surprise, it was already up and running, but more surprising was Sync standing there and seemingly running checks. Sync whipped around when Luke entered the room.

"You!" said Sync in surprise, "Asch sent you. Alone?" He walked up to Luke, but remained a safe distance.

"No," stuttered Luke. He began walking up to Sync, showing his peaceful intentions, "The others are behind. They don't know that Asch... I mean... I didn't really explain."

"Asch mentioned that you knew a little of what was happening," said Sync thoughtfully, "Would you mind being knocked out to make things easier?" He accepted Luke's unspoken gesture of peace, and walked to the side of Luke, making Luke turn his head to look at him.

"If it helps my secrecy," said Luke feelingly, "then do whatever."

"Excellent," smirked Sync. Luke closed his eyes to block his own fear, before he felt a piercing blow to the side of the head. He didn't have another thought.

* * *

"That idiot!" snarled Guy, "What was he thinking?" As he spoke, he plowed his sword through a ghost, violently killing it in a burst of fonons. 

"It was so weird, though," exclaimed Anise from across their small battlefield, "I've never seen Luke do something so dumb!"

"It was quite out of character," grunted Jade as he unleashed a nonverbal fonic arte; Stalagmite.

Tear ignored all of this and battled silently. She knew that already. It was out of character, Luke had never done anything like this, he was smarter than that, et cetera. No matter. He did what he did. Tear only cared about getting through to him. He was in danger. She had to save him.

That was the lone thought that carried her through the next battles. She healed the others without thinking, and didn't help herself whatsoever until Jade pointed out her wounded state in a controlled voice that Tear understood was his way of keeping her together. She appreciated it, really. But it was a distraction. Luke could be dying or dead. When she got to him, she was going to give him a good shake. How dare he do this, scaring her so much?

But she had to save him first.

After a length of time had passed, all monsters in the area were destroyed and vanished into their separate fonons. It had felt like a dream, like both no time and eternity had passed. How unusual; and predictably, Tear didn't care. As of now, time was meaningless.

They continued on and ran around a corner. The passages got darker, and they heard the whine of a fon machine winding down echoing off the walls. Tear at the lead, she rounded a corner and met an unexpected scene. Luke, unconscious, was lying on a fon machine and was surrounded by green light that was quickly fading, Sync the Tempest was rapidly typing at the computer in front of the machine Luke was on, and Dist the Reaper was sitting on a hovering chair over Sync's head and had presumably been talking to Sync before she and the others had come in.

"You!" growled Tear, and she ran at Sync with her staff outstretched.

"Hm," Sync murmured condescendingly, and he leaped straight over Tear's head. Before she could stop and gather herself for another attack, she felt Sync's foot land on the small of her back and shoved her towards the ground. She sprawled on the floor gracelessly with a grunt. She twisted to get up, and found Sync battling Guy fiercely. In those few seconds, Jade had chased Dist away from the machine, and Ion was hovering somewhere in the middle nervously, with Anise rotating to protect him from the closest threat.

Before she could make a move, the fights were over. Dist fled with an angry curse at Jade, "You fool, Jade, Dist the Rose will conquer you today!" Guy and Sync lighted on the floor rarely, set in their almost aerial one-on-one duel. At the edge of the room, Guy finally managed to get inside Sync's guard. With a blow of his scabbard, Sync's mask hit the wall with a loud clang. Sync sank to the floor, covering his face agitatedly. The boy ran to his mask, guarding his face the whole way, and escaped the room as fast as he could. For one called the Tempest, it was fast indeed.

They wasted no time. Jade ran to the fon machine and began typing. He stopped and frowned at the console, looked up at Luke on the machine, and then down at the console again. The green light covering Luke was almost gone, and it finished dispersing mere seconds later.

"What is it, Jade?" asked Guy worriedly. Jade spared Guy a glance before looking back at the console.

"It seems," said Jade slowly, "that Sync turned off the fon machine himself. Whatever he was doing to Luke, it's finished."

Tear went up to Luke, who was blearily opening his eyes. Her worry almost overwhelmed her, and she rested a hand on Luke's forehead. He wasn't sick, that was for certain.

Luke's eyes were still half-closed when he saw Tear. His eyes lit up, while he twisted to see her better, but his eyes remained in their half-open, half-closed state.

"Tear?!"

* * *

Luke was in a confused way, to say the least. He couldn't remember a whole lot, except that he knew his friends were Tear and Guy and Jade Natalia and Anise and Ion and Asch and that his memory would come back and that link at the back of his mind was very, very distracting... 

The link! He had it! It explained the weird rush of emotions coming through that Luke didn't remember from last time. What did that mean? Was Asch leaving his part open? That would be different. Asch was a jerk, he wasn't nice... It occurred to Luke that he was disoriented.

Then he saw Tear.

"Tear?!" He could hardly believe it. What was Tear doing here? He had left them behind to get the link open - Asch's emotions were too distracting, the man _really_ needed to calm down - and then Luke saw all of the others and found himself being gently pulled off of the machine.

"What are you guys doing here?" he mumbled when he could steadily stand on his own.

Instead of answering, Tear set herself in front of Luke with her hands on her hips. She leaned forward so Luke could see her very angry face better.

"Luke. What were you thinking?!" Tear's voice was raised, and almost shaking with anger.

Luke flinched away instinctively, avoiding her gaze. "What are you talking about?" His voice was still quiet and mumbling. He put on his best 'blank' face, while finding he couldn't hide his apprehension.

"Don't play me for an idiot, Luke," said Tear, determined to ream him out, "What were you _thinking_ when you ran away from us? You could have been killed!" She edged forward so Luke couldn't avoid her easily.

Luke sure tried to avoid her, though. "I - I don't know. I just had to come."

This piqued Jade's interest. "You _had_ to come? You mean you didn't have a choice?"

Luke stared at Jade as blankly as he could. Jade had figured one thing out for sure at this point; he knew Luke was a replica. Behind him, Luke saw Guy pick up a pair of discs at the console.

"I don't know," repeated Luke, "I just ran ahead, that's all. It was stupid, I know."

"Stupid? What you did was beyond stupid," growled Tear, "It was reckless. Know what reckless is? It means you rush into things without thinking and get yourself killed, if not other people killed! You do not just run away with no explanation! It's irresponsible. I'm disappointed." Tear finished her speech off by glaring at Luke, and not looking away.

"Okay, Tear," said Jade humorously, "I think Luke's got it. You're not going to do that again, are you, Luke?" Jade's expression was completely amused - Luke would've been surprised if Jade was taking Luke's mishap seriously at all.

Luke shook his head. "No. Not if I can help it."

Tear withdrew her glare and folded her arms. "Fine."

"Then can we go?" asked Anise impatiently, "Luke's okay, right? Then we gotta keep on - a life's at stake."

"Yes," agreed Ion fervently, "Let's do."

The group ran on and came to a tower, stairwells filling their vision of the whole room. Luke became more and more strong-minded as he went on, and the emotions in the back of his head faded somewhat, but they were still a constant presence. Luke realized that Asch was watching him and the situation. Otherwise he'd never be so open. Luke was determined to show Asch what would bring him over to them the fastest. He needed Asch on his side as soon as possible. Luke didn't think he could do this alone anymore, and who would be more for the cause against Van than his original?

At the top of the stairs, they reached the roof. Arietta was there with Sync, who looked much more confident with his mask on. Dist had left, apparently.

"Gloomietta!" exclaimed Anise, and she stepped forward aggressively. Arietta glared back just as fiercely, and her griffin brother stepped forward in front of the petite girl. Luke gently put a hand on Anise's shoulder and discreetly shook his head 'no'. Anise scowled up at him, but retreated - marginally.

"Hand over the Fon Master!" commanded Sync impetuously, "Else the engineer dies!"

Jade and Guy jumped forward as one to attack Sync. Sync battled them back ferociously, but it was still a two on one fight and Sync couldn't win. The boy pulled out his trump card as a last line of defense.

"Akashic Torment!" Sync shouted and he created a Daathic seal on the ground, creating an eruption of fonons and light. Jade and Guy, both caught in it, were stunned and hurt.

"Arietta!" called Sync as he ran to the edge of the roof.

The girl, who had been distracted by looking at Luke, jerked. "Right!" The griffin in front of her then jumped away, coinciding perfectly with Sync's leap off of the roof. Sync landed on the griffin's back and flew away.

Arietta's eagle friend replaced the griffin. "Give me Ion!" she shouted, almost desperately, and held her doll tighter.

"What do you want him for?" asked Guy calmly, his sword still drawn.

Luke carefully walked closer to Arietta. "We don't want to hurt you, Arietta."

("Says who," muttered Anise behind him.)

Luke ignored Anise for the moment. "Really," he said.

Unfortunately, Arietta ignored him, too. "You're lying," she said, and all of a sudden her eagle dive-bombed Guy, him being the closest. Guy hissed and jumped backwards, dodging the dive. Jade stood back and set upon using his fonic artes, Guy jumped to respond to the eagle and Anise ran ahead of Luke to Arietta, Tokunaga already enlarged. Arietta ran back, avoiding Anise as best as she could and began casting.

One thing was obvious about Arietta's spell-casting - she was much faster than Jade. Luke chalked it up to the fon slot seal, but even though Arietta started several seconds after Jade, she still had hers finished before him. Arietta sent her spell to Anise, and it hit Tokunaga pretty hard, making Anise reel. It only made Anise angrier, though, and she chased Arietta with greater anger.

Guy and Jade were occupied with the eagle, and they jointly kept it plenty busy. Anise and Arietta were caught in a little game of hit-and-run, and it was impossible to tell who was winning. Luke only remembered purposely staying out of skirmishes a few times in his nine years, but he stayed out of this one. He just felt too guilty about fighting Arietta. It wasn't right. Arietta needed to understand their point of view. Luke exchanged looks with Ion and found Ion had the same cheerless feelings as himself. The Fon Master's mouth was twisted in grief as he met Luke's eyes. Luke never before realized how the continuous fighting must have affected Ion. He was genuinely disturbed by it all, and yet had said nothing.

Feeling bothered, Luke turned away from Ion and faced the battle in front of him, but he still didn't move. A hand put itself on his hand suddenly, and Luke jumped with a gasp. He whipped around to see Tear with a confused expression.

"What are you doing, Luke?" she asked, puzzled. Her hand remained on his shoulder. Her previous anger was apparently gone.

Calming down from his scare, Luke gave Tear a somber look. "Doesn't it bother you?"

If anything, Tear became more confused. She dropped her hand and walked to Luke's side so they watched the battle side by side. "What do you mean?"

"Arietta," answered Luke quietly, "She hasn't had any chance to let us explain. She thinks we've murdered her family just because we could. And there are... lots of other things she should know before we face off." Like the fact that her Ion was dead, gone, and replaced. "It seems so unfair that we're fighting her before she gets a chance to hear the whole story."

"So you think she's not making an informed decision," stated Tear, "I think I might have to agree. But she also initiated the fights. Whenever you tried to explain, she wouldn't let you. You shouldn't feel guilty about it."

"But I do," answered Luke somberly, and he watched Anise and Arietta fight quietly. Tear was just as silent for a few minutes.

"Where's the engineer?" asked Tear thoughtfully. They both looked around and walked around the rooftop, avoiding the fighters carefully. Eventually, after some looking, they found the man bound and gagged behind some storage crates, but conscious. They untied him and helped him up. After he said his thanks, Tear pointed him towards Ion, where he would be more or less safe.

Tear and Luke returned to their previous positions and were reminded of their earlier conversation about Arietta when they saw her and Anise still battling evenly. After a short while of watching the fighters, Tear spoke to Luke gently.

"Maybe you should go and end the fight."

Luke spun towards her in angry surprise.

"Before Arietta and Anise actually _kill_ each other," Tear clarified. Luke's frown smoothed out.

"Right," he answered, and he ran out to meet the young girls doing battle. Anise was in the middle of defending herself from a fierce Stalagmite arte, but Luke was free. He approached Arietta quickly.

The pink-haired girl watched him warily. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Arietta," said Luke, drawing his sword, "I'm not." And before Arietta did anything, Luke carefully knocked her out with the hilt of his sword. She collapsed, and the eagle Jade and Guy were fighting squawked and flew away as fast as it could manage. Luke stared down at Arietta, and barely noticed Anise coming up behind him. Arietta had hesitated.

Luke wasn't sure what that meant, but he hoped that they had another ally in the future.

"So what do we do with her?" asked Guy. He sheathed his sword and crossed his arms thoughtfully while looking at Jade.

"We certainly aren't going to kill her," said Tear, "It would be unfair."

"What's unfair?" asked Anise, "We won."

"Anise," warned Ion, "We mustn't kill her."

"I say we send her to Daath as prisoner," announced Luke, "Whatever your place is, Ion, I don't think she'd just be allowed to try and kidnap you."

"Absolutely right," said a deep voice from behind them. They all turned as one to see Van approaching them, shaking his head in either regret or thought.

"Master Van," said Luke quietly. Not with guilt. The man wasn't worth guilt.

Van stopped in front of them, looking from face to face. "Why are you all here? I thought I told you all to wait in Kaitzur. You agreed. Why aren't you there?" Even though he wasn't shouting, Van was clearly angry at them. Luke supposed he would be, too. Even if Van had been willing to commit genocide, he was still human, and humans reacted badly to broken promises. Luke had to try very hard to not feel guilty at Van's anger.

Luke eventually conquered his shame, but he tilted his head down to try and create that impression. "We had to save the engineer, Master Van."

"It would've been against the Score," piped up Anise, "The engineer had no disasters predicted for this year."

Van stared at her. "The Score. I see." The man's self-control was perfect. Luke saw no trace of anger or scorn.

"Well, if that's so, then good job," Van continued, "But we need to continue on. There's a ferry waiting at the Kaitzur Naval Port."

"Where will that take us?" asked Tear, suspicious.

Van returned Tear's suspicion with a neutral look. "To Chesedonia. Once at Chesedonia, you can visit the Kimlascan Consulate and obtain a ship to Baticul."

"That sounds like a good plan, considering Luke's influence," said Jade, "Is the ferry waiting for us, or are we on a time limit?"

"I've requested that they wait for the Fon Master," said Van, and Jade nodded. Anybody would listen to that. "So how are you getting there? Are you going to come with Arietta and I in a coach, or would you prefer to go on foot?"

"I have no preference either way," said Jade, "What about you, Luke?"

Luke pretended to think about it, when inwardly the decision was made already. _Not with Van, not with Van... _Luke didn't think he could handle it. He missed Van, but he was going to have to admit that Van was working directly against Luke's chosen goals. He had defeated Van before, he'd almost certainly have to do it again.

"If you're in a coach, and especially if you're taking the engineer with you, I don't know if there'll be enough room for me and anyone else. I'll go on foot, with the rest of them."

Van nodded. "Very well." He stooped and picked up Arietta's unconscious form. "I'll see you on the ferry soon."

Everyone either nodded or waved in good-bye. At a gentle nudge from Luke, and a nod from Ion, the cowed engineer left Ion's side and followed at Van's heels. As they left the rooftop, Luke saw the engineer initiate conversation with Van and they started talking lightly to each other. He couldn't make out any words, but it sounded friendly enough.

"Well," said Jade bracingly, "Let's be on our own way, or we'll be late for the ferry."

"It would be rude to keep them waiting," agreed Ion.

So they quickly left the castle. Luke hung around in his usual position of rearguard and after a few minutes of the others discreetly watching him, they apparently decided Luke wasn't going to run off again, and everybody continued like normal. Luke wondered how often he might have to run ahead randomly. There might be a few situations in the future when he might have to avoid the others to get business done. He couldn't think of any in particular, but then Akzeriuth popped into his head.

Luke winced as an automatic response, but struggled to regain control of his guilt. The people in this Akzeriuth were going to be saved. They had to be; Luke would make sure of that. He wouldn't go with Van at all. Well, after everyone was evacuated... Maybe... To make Van think that he was still on his side, Luke would eventually willingly go with Van. But Luke decided to himself that the mining town was going to be evacuated to St. Binah or Kaitzur first; even Deo Pass if they didn't have that much time. That way, Van could still break the passage ring and the people of the mining city would still be alive. Luke still had nightmares about the boy in the miasma mud, crying out for his parents... Luke's stomach roiled in both emotional pain and the memory of his own experience with the miasma.

But something about letting Van destroy the passage ring gave Luke pause. What if they didn't destroy the passage ring at all? Thanks to the Albertesque Seal, if Akzeriuth was kept intact, then Van couldn't use the other Sephiroth at all. Which meant that they could kill Van and all of this would never happen. But the more he thought about it, the more wary Luke became. Bad things had happened because they had underestimated Van in the past. And it was a sure thing that they couldn't take on Van now, especially since he had all of his God-Generals and the entire backing of the Order of Lorelei. At this point, everyone still believed Van was good. So they couldn't attack or kill Van. And if they left him alive, Luke knew they wouldn't be able to keep Van from using his plan B. If Van was the genius he was in the last world, he always had a plan B.

Luke cast around in his mind for who else would make a hyperresonance willingly, and remembered the peace meeting between the three countries that revealed Van's position as the unwilling destroyer of Hod via artificial hyperresonance. So no matter what, Van could and would destroy Akzeriuth - Luke was just the more convenient way. So Luke decided to eventually go with Van willingly, when everyone was evacuated. It would save everyone a lot of grief if they knew exactly what Van was up to. It was the only way Luke could think to keep tabs on Van.

"What's bothering you, Luke?" asked Jade casually. At this point in time, the group was already well on their way to the port. Choral Castle was a dot on the horizon and dusk was creeping up on them quickly.

Luke jumped. Jade was behind him and he hadn't noticed. When Luke tuned back into reality, he found that everyone else was a little ahead, giving Jade and Luke some privacy to talk in the back. Luke groaned in his head; he _really_ didn't want to have to talk to Jade. It was exhausting.

"Nothing's bothering me," said Luke resolutely, relaxing his frown. He was just planning and scheming ways to save ten thousand people, that was all.

Jade 'hmm'ed thoughtfully, and increased his pace to join Luke's side instead of behind a little behind him. "I've noticed that you seem to be very jumpy around Van."

Luke's back straightened in apprehension. "Is that so?" he asked, trying to sound calm, while wishing his mouth wasn't so dry. He needed to swallow.

"Don't play stupid with me, young man," clucked Jade in a very parental way. Luke easily found this the most frightening thing that Jade had done so far.

"I'm not," Luke protested. How was he going to keep Jade out of this? Luke glumly realized that he couldn't think of a way.

"Now, now," said Jade airily, "Lying isn't appropriate behaviour for young boys." Luke started protesting that he wasn't a _young boy_, but he realized that he had referred to himself as only seven years old, which was essentially permission for everyone else to call him that, too. So Luke bore the teasing with a tight throat. "Van is your master, isn't he? Why does he make you so nervous?"

Luke shrugged, feeling the beginnings of panic at the corners of his mind. Jade couldn't find out! There was no telling how Jade would react to it all, and Luke wasn't that confident in Jade's loyalty to him as a friend right now.

"I dunno," Luke responded in an edgy tone, "I guess just seeing him from the world's point of view, he doesn't seem so convincing anymore. Maybe it's because his own sister thinks the worst of him, but I'm getting a little cautious."

"So finally being out in the world is affecting your thoughts," said Jade, "An acceptable answer."

A little tension drained out of Luke, but it coiled back up when Jade followed up: "But I don't believe it for an instant."

"Why?" asked Luke, very uptight. Irritation was starting to creep into his tone alongside the stress.

"Don't be so upset, Luke," said Jade absently, "If it was simply Van you acted like that with, I would believe you. As I said, it's an acceptable answer. But it's not just Van. You also act this way with me."

Luke's shoulders slumped as he tried to think of a good response.

"So if what you said is indeed true," continued Jade, "I think I might be offended. Don't you trust me?" He spoke the question somehow both mockingly and hurt. Luke knew the hurt tone was fake, and it only added to the man's mocking.

If Luke wasn't so emotionally attached to Jade, he would've punched the soldier right then and there - the man was a jerk.

"I don't know," said Luke mutedly, "You haven't done anything wrong, exactly, but you're... difficult."

"I see," said Jade. Luke didn't even recognize that tone, but he didn't want to listen anymore. He hunched his back slightly, trying to evade more questions.

Jade wasn't finished, but he seemed to pick up on Luke's confused aura.

"I've talked to Guy, and it seems you were truthful when you said you learned so much from books, and says that your leap in physical ability happened before your little trip to Tataroo Valley. But what about your killing philosophy? When did you kill 'too much'?" Jade was eying Luke piercingly.

Luke avoided Jade's gaze skillfully. "None of your business."

"Are there really secrets among friends?"

Luke muttered some words under his breath at the return of Jade's completely unserious tone. "Unless you're willing to spill your life story as well, I'm under no obligation," Luke growled at him.

Jade might have been taken aback at Luke's sudden hostility, but he gave Luke a reproachful look. Luke glared back, still feeling some fear in the back of his mind that Jade was really going to find out. While still walking, they remained in their staring contest.

Luke backed off first, unable to compete with Jade's utter lack of shame. The two remained in silence at the back of the group until they reached the port.

* * *

They met Van on the ferry. The group had arrived after dark, and the ferry had set sail immediately. Luke was a bit unsure about leaving at night, but decided that they'd be going through the night no matter when they arrived. 

Van had long since deposited Arietta in a confined room, and was wandering the decks when they met him. They exchanged some pleasantries, and then all went to bed in their assigned rooms. Emotionally drained, Luke fell asleep immediately, forgetting about Asch entirely.

He was able to sleep in the next morning. He supposed he never thought of it, but being on the ferry meant that he wasn't responsible for how they traveled in the morning. He was free to spend as much in bed as he chose. Giving in to the impulse to snooze until around eleven was wonderful.

When Luke felt nice and rested, he got out of bed. He dressed in his usual clothes, and finally set aside dirty clothes to be washed. He threw on his brightest green shirt (which was still pretty dark), and his new jacket which he was becoming very fond of, and went out. There was nobody in the hallways except Mieu. Mieu had been hanging out with Tear mostly, which meant that Luke spent less time getting irritated by the thing, and more time getting irritated with Jade. (After yesterday, Luke was ready to trade Jade in for Mieu immediately.)

"Hey, Mieu," said Luke distractedly, and he only just acknowledged the cheagle's greeting before he went looking for everyone else. He found Jade inside by the bridge, carefully monitoring the sternsmans actions. Luke empathized with the man behind the wheel, and he and Jade traded careful looks. They said nothing, merely bowed politely to each other. Luke felt less edgy at this; it seemed Jade was going to hold off interrogating, if only for a little while.

Luke saw Anise on the outside deck, and walked over. She was dreamily staring out at the sea, and vacantly toying with her hair.

"Hey, Anise," greeted Luke cheerfully. Anise quickly turned around.

"Luke!" she exclaimed, grinning, "We haven't gotten to talk since St. Binah!"

"I know," agreed Luke, "It's been crazy."

"So what's up?" asked Anise, "And why did you suddenly take off in Choral Castle? Were you alright?"

Luke laughed. "I'm fine, Anise. I'm feeling kinda tired is all. And heck, I don't even know about Choral Castle."

Anise 'ahh'ed. "So you just have the wild spirit in you. I gotcha."

Luke exhaled in happiness - he was glad Anise was the type to take things at face value. If she didn't believe them, at least she didn't pry very much. Anise could take a hint at least.

"So what were you and Jade talking about yesterday?" Anise said, relaxing against the rail. "You looked really worried."

Luke's smile became forced. "He was just... being himself."

Anise nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. The Colonel is great and all, but he can get pretty uncomfortable sometimes."

"No kidding," said Luke frankly, "But he'll let up sometimes. I guess he realizes that the rest of us non-geniuses need a breather every now and then."

Anise laughed with him, and then spied something over Luke's shoulder. Luke turned to see Ion.

"Hey, Ion," said Anise happily. She gave Luke a shy look, asking permission without words to let her leave the conversation. Luke smiled, and Anise and Ion went off to play or talk or whatever they did. Luke watched them go, waving at Ion, and then continued walking the decks.

He spotted Guy, and ran up to him.

"Hey," said Guy. The blond then turned back to studying the ship.

"What are you looking at?" asked Luke curiously.

"Huh? Oh, just the outside of the ship," answered Guy, eyes riveted on the walls.

Luke stared at him. "I thought you would be more interested in what makes it tick."

Guy turned to him, and shrugged. "I already looked at the engine. I'm just looking at the metal casing for everything. Did you know that aside from the earth fonons, metals are made up of water fonons?"

"No," confessed Luke, "Why?"

"It keeps the particles together when it's being heated and shaped by a smithy or factory. Since the metal is subjected to a huge mass of fire fonons, it needs to be made up of the opposite type of fonons to resist breaking apart and joining the fon belt."

Luke thought about this. "But what if metal didn't have water fonons? What would happen then?"

Guy considered this. "Well, I guess we'd decide that it wasn't strong enough to handle stress, and find something else. Rock isn't tough enough to handle what we use metal for, and ships wouldn't be possible at all... Unless we somehow managed to use wind fonons to counteract the weight of the earth fonons. Maybe we could use fonstones to gather wind fonons together and..." Guy trailed off at Luke's amused expression. "But I wouldn't worry about that, though - there would be something for us to use."

Luke gave Guy a smile. "...Thanks for always sticking with me, Guy."

"Where did that come from?" Guy finally looked away from the ship to give Luke a funny look.

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno. I'm just really glad you're my friend."

"Well, I'm really glad we're friends, too." Guy smiled, still looking confused. Luke walked away still smiling, and saw Guy shaking his head out of the corner of his eye.

Luke found Tear at the other end of the ship. The two of them were alone. Luke came up beside Tear where she was resting against the railing, staring out at sea in much the same way as Anise had been.

"Hey," said Luke quietly.

Tear smiled at him. "You're finally up."

Luke blushed a little, but smiled back. "Hey, I didn't have to get up today. Not slowing us down is permission to sleep in, right?"

Tear gave a shrug. "I guess Jade thinks so."

Luke fidgeted a little. "So how are you?"

"I'm feeling fine," said Tear, "What about you?"

"Rested," answered Luke truthfully, "Better than I have."

Tear nodded. "It's been a really rough journey for you, Luke. I'm surprised at the way you've been handling it. It's not what I would've expected from a boy who's spent his life inside a sheltered manor."

Luke tried to sound indignant, but he thought he came off as amused. "Hey, don't diss me!" He couldn't help laughing a bit. Tear didn't laugh with him, but she smiled with him.

"I'm serious, though. You've been taken from your home, sliced up by a God-General, taken captive, been pushed to your physical limits, fought difficult enemies, suffered through the miasma, and been kidnapped by another God-General for who knows what. And from the way you've been acting, I would believe you go through this all of the time." Tear gazed at Luke seriously.

Luke knew not to take Tear's statement too anxiously. He had to stop getting so uptight when people inadvertently stumbled across 'impossible' truths.

So he shrugged and smiled, accepting the compliment. Tear stayed a few more minutes, and they enjoyed a comfortable silence, just staring at the ocean and the wake left by the ship.

Tear turned to Luke. "It's good talking to you. Even though I've only just met you, I feel like you've known me for years. It's... pleasant."

Luke felt a blush in his whole face, and he buried his face into his arm while turning away.

Tear almost laughed. "I'll see you, Luke," she said quietly, and she walked away. Luke lifted his head despite his blush, and waved good-bye.

The heat in his face didn't fade for some time. When Luke had finally gotten his composure back, he went over that conversation in his mind, over and over and over... It left him feeling giddy. While he knew he had to make _that_ confession of his feelings soon, he felt so shy about it, he had to block the thought from his mind. What if Tear thought he was too forward? What if she was scared off? So Luke held off.

To calm down, Luke relaxed his mind. He was too stressed. (Before talking to Tear, he was perfectly calm, but his adrenaline had shot up at the thought of admitting he had really, really strong feelings about her.) So he let his mind wander, trying to get his emotions back under control.

After a few minutes of calm and deep breathing, Luke felt something peculiar. It was small, so he almost missed it, but... there. In the back of his mind, there were... emotions. Other emotions, not his.

With a jolt, Luke realized that he was sensing Asch. He didn't even contact him last night; he had forgotten! He quickly reached into the back of his mind, opening the mind-link. He instantly got a headache, a mind-blowing headache, but he fought past it.

_Asch?! _Luke shouted through the link. He would like to have the amount of control Asch did so he could see where Asch was, but for now, he would have to be content with standing at the metaphorical doorway between their minds.

There was an emotional reaction, but Luke couldn't decipher the mix of feelings that flowed through. There was no answer. Then...

_...Replica?!_

* * *

**I imagine some of you are very angry with me right now. **


	8. Familiarity

_**Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Notes: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Last chapter was definitely the most popular! Maybe I should put in more cliff-hangers, hmm?

A very kind reviewer let me know of a concern that I wasn't aware of. While this may not be true for everyone, I just got the info that people may think I don't know what's coming later in the story, or that I just put Luke in an alternate dimension for kicks. This is not the case. I have everything planned out, and it's coming along quite well, I think. You are not going to see some major divergence until Akzeriuth, but there is a bigger plot than just running through the game again.

Now that being said, some things are going to have to be the same. Van's plan involves the same things as it did last time: the replication of all human life on the planet, using the passage rings, Eldrant, all of it. It's obviously not going to be exactly the same, but unless I wanted to absolutely mess up the plot, this stuff has to happen again. Though, there is something deeper than that going on here... I'll leave you guys to think on that and pick up on the right hints as I write.

Thanks so much to all of my reviewers, because you guys light up this story. SoldierSteak, I fixed what I said I would. Nocturne del Shadow, while I can't change what's already happened, I'll keep what you've said in mind. Yuleen, thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Remember to check my profile, readers, because I post my progress on my next chapter and put up some general info on this fic. So it might be worthwhile to check it out every once in a while.

* * *

_Replica?!_

Asch gripped his sword until his hands were white. Up until that moment, he had been training on the deck of the _Bia_, and trying to ignore the niceness of the day.

The replica had somehow accessed the link. Not just continued to bang on Asch's skull, not just hammer at the door, but actually opened the door and shouted his name. He could only remain frozen, staring at nothing.

Asch didn't think it would happen like this. As soon as Asch had found out what Van was planning to do, Asch had gone through his options. He had thought of the replica, as it would be close to Van often. But Asch despised the thing. So he decided to use it only if there was no other choice.

But the night after Asch had seen the replica on the Tartarus, he got a nasty surprise. All of a sudden, he had a piercing headache, which throbbed in a certain beat, like someone was trying to break down a door. After about an hour, it faded.

Asch would have been fine with it if it had ended there. But no. It happened the next night. And the next. About this time, Asch figured out the headaches weren't coming from any outside force. It was all in his mind. He wasn't insane, Asch was sure of that, but these headaches came from something, or someone else, in his mind. That day, Sync had finalized the plan regarding the replica, and everything had fallen into place for Asch. The replica was trying to break into his mind!

Asch had felt completely violated and offended beyond any words. How dare that piece of _dreck_ that didn't even understand its own sin try and steal the last sanctuary he had left?!

But this... Arguably friendly, honest words... Asch didn't quite understand his own feelings.

* * *

Luke finally deciphered what Asch was feeling: shock. 

He couldn't help laughing with a mixture of relief and the feeling of accomplishment that he had finally done it! He had finally contacted Asch! Now they could... Luke realized that planning wasn't going to be as easy as he had thought, with a slow sinking feeling. He tried to get past that - Van had to be stopped from destroying Akzeriuth, and dropping the Outer Lands and everything!

He spoke through that door between their minds again. _Asch, you're there! I think we need to talk._

There was silence from the other side. Luke became nervous and spoke again._Asch, you're there, right? _Asch's silence seemed stunned, unsure. Luke tried again once more, suddenly doubtful that they had actually made contact.

_...Asch?_

Finally Asch responded.

_Replica?_ he sputtered, as much as one could sputter in a mind to mind conversation.

_Asch!_ said Luke happily, _I've been trying for so long to try and talk to -_

_Yeah, I noticed,_ snapped Asch, _Why were you trying to break my skull in?_

_What?_ asked Luke, plenty confused. He hadn't been trying to hurt Asch, not at all.

_The headaches,_ explained Asch impatiently, _Whenever you tried to bash your way in, you - Forget it, dreck!_

_Hey,_ said Luke quietly, slightly offended. Asch might actually mean the insults this time. They hadn't had a chance to really interact before, so who knew what Asch was thinking about him - nothing good, probably. His own headache was fading as Asch's and his fon slots starting beating more in sync.

_So why have you been trying to break my head in? How did you know I even existed?_ growled Asch.

Luke avoided the second question. _I dunno, I felt you there, I guess. I was curious. I saw you at the Tartarus, then I started wondering what that thing in the back of my mind was. But why did you want to 'finish the process'?_

Asch was quiet for a moment as the interrogation switched sides, and Luke actually felt his mental processes shifting.

_I don't think I can trust you, replica,_ responded Asch, his anger finally fading into irritation, _You trust Van too much._

Luke smiled. _Try me._

_I can't, _said Asch, his 'voice' rising again, _You'll spill everything to him!_

_I won't,_ protested Luke, _Just watch me._

Luke felt a trickle of surprise come through the link, but Asch didn't let it show in his voice. Maybe Asch didn't know he could do that at this point.

_I don't want to see through your replica eyes, dreck, _spat Asch.

_Just try it,_ coaxed Luke, trying to sound like he wasn't actually coaxing him, _I - I want you to trust me._

Asch grumbled something about emotional attachment, but subsided into silence. Before Luke could ask him again for a clear answer, a golden light spilled into their heads and illuminated the darkness of their minds. In his mind's eye, Luke could actually see Asch standing on the other side of the open door.

Luke grunted as he felt his body be controlled by an outside force. His arms were being pushed out, and he felt the beginnings of a hyperresonance being forced out.

_Replica! _shouted Asch, worry streaming into his voice alongside the anger, _What are you_ doing?!

_It's not me!_ Luke shouted back at him, trying to get control of his body back. It was this world's Lorelei! He had forgotten about this part completely, and growled at the rising hyperresonance. He knew how to push it down, but he simply hadn't been prepared for this.

_I have reached you... _Both men froze at the sound of that voice. Lorelei, the other Lorelei. _Show me your power, the same power as mine..._

After a few more seconds of struggling, Luke felt another force enter his mind, and try to help force it down. Luke realized that it was Asch, and Asch's own ability with hyperresonance trying to stopper up the hyperresonance. Luke instinctively grabbed that control in his mental hand and combined it with his own to completely shut off the hyperresonance.

As the power faded, Luke started to feel in control of his own body again. He relaxed his body, and stared out to sea blankly as he tried to figure out what was happening inwardly.

In his mind, Luke felt bombarded from three different sides. Asch's curiosity was growing almost out of control, and he was loudly demanding that Luke explain what had just happened, the other Lorelei was worriedly wondering what was happening, and to top it off, the original Lorelei that Luke knew had appeared and was trying to keep the other two down.

_Do you wish for help, Luke? _The original Lorelei was whispering in Luke's mental ear.

Luke said no. _Just give them to me one at a time._

Suddenly it was only Asch. _Why aren't you answering me, dreck?! What did you do? Do you know what that was?!_

Luke interrupted his rant. _Sorry, Asch. It was a hyperresonance, I know that.  
_  
Asch dropped his voice, but kept the same angry intensity. _Then what did you do when I tried to get rid of it?!_

Luke winced, but had no idea how to answer. It was second-order hyperresonance, and it was the only way he felt completely in control of hyperresonance at all.

_I don't know, _he confessed, _I just wanted to stop it. _He regretted the fact that his previous control of hyperresonance seemed to gone in this world, and then realized that control of that power was connected to the body he was in.

Asch could apparently read Luke's emotions as well as Luke could read his. _You're lying! Tell the truth!_

Luke radiated desperation and confusion as 'loudly' as he could. _I don't know. I just grabbed what was there and tried to use it. It worked, right?_

_Hmph. _It appeared that Asch wasn't truly angry, because he let it go. Luke figured he must have been more worried that he was going to use hyperresonance on the ship and kill himself, thus ending Asch's plans against Van.

_Have you made things right here? _Luke heard Lorelei whisper in his ear again. Luke gave an affirmative.

With a mental jolt, the presence of Asch was gone, and Luke was left with the second Lorelei.

_You are capable of using that power, _said this Lorelei urgently, _You must use it! _Luke again felt the hyperresonance rise, but he forced it down. Without the presence of Asch, Luke didn't have his second-order control, but he was ready for it this time.

_I'll wait for the opportune moment,_ assured Luke, _There's a right time for it._

_I cannot allow such a being as yourself to make such a decision. _Lorelei still sounded urgent, but now he was quite firm.

Luke was equally firm. _You must let me. Lorelei! _He directed this last statement to his Lorelei. His Lorelei, the free Lorelei, came and revealed himself to the other Lorelei. The golden light tripled in intensity, but Luke didn't have any problem with sight or pain.

Luke didn't hear anything, or see anything happen, but the light began flickering. Luke sensed something was happening that he wasn't privy to. After a few minutes of this flickering light, fading to dim and back, there was a rush of sound and wind, and Luke was left in darkness. His mind went back to normal.

_...What was that? _asked Asch harshly, _Tell me or you'll regret it._

Luke felt awe at the power of the two Lorelei's, ignoring Asch's emotions. _I'm not exactly sure, _he confessed,_but it was... _He trailed off. It was... daunting, but awe-inspiring at the same time.

Asch agreed, and Luke felt pleased that Asch didn't seem to be angry at this point. He just had to avoid saying anything that would set him off. (Luke realized for the first time that they weren't using words to converse anymore.)

With things in his mind under control, Luke turned his attention to the rest of the world. As he did so, he saw Van come onto the deck. With mixed feelings, Luke watched him approach. He was dimly aware of Asch getting jittery in the back of his head.

"Luke?" asked Van kindly, "What was that? Are you feeling well?"

Luke tried his best to make it seem that he had no idea what had just happened, never mind what a hyperresonance was. "I felt - there was a light, and it was warm, and I couldn't control my body for a second, and there was a voice talking to me, but I didn't understand him."

Asch's stunned silence was tangible. From what Asch had picked up from Luke's emotions, he must have thought Luke had learned all about this from Van.

Van was quiet for a moment while he thought.

"Luke," Van said slowly, "that was something called a hyperresonance."

Luke scrunched up his face in fake confusion. "I heard about those, like... fonon explosions."

"Not quite," said Van patiently, but with a hint of worry in underlying it all, "A hyperresonance can destroy anything, and turn it to dust."

Luke stared at him, then shrugged, still playing his role. "Well, at least it didn't happen."

Van was firm, but still maintained his kind tone. "You need to take this more seriously, Luke. The power of hyperresonance isn't something that should be taken lightly. Do you know why you were kept in the manor without a chance to leave?"

Luke acted confused. "The manor? What does that have to do with it?"

"Kimlasca wants your power of hyperresonance," Van explained, "They want to keep you under their heel, as a faithful dog to be let out in war."

Luke molded his features into disbelief. "W-Why would they do that? I don't understand... Uncle and Natalia always seemed so kind..."

Van's face flickered for a second before he strongly continued with his explanation. "What they show you doesn't matter. They intend to keep you prisoner in Kimlasca, and use you."

Luke felt Asch's incredulity rise in the back of his mind, but he felt none himself. He had heard this before.

"How are we going to stop that?" Luke exclaimed, and hoped he wasn't going too overboard with this act.

"First things first," Van said calmly, "We avert the war, then you won't have to be used in it." Luke nodded. "You'll be praised as the hero who averted the war, and thus win your freedom."

Luke made himself grin in anticipation, but the memory of what Van had lead him to do left him sick. He strained his face to make the smile as genuine as he could. "I can't wait, Master."

Van smiled back at Luke affectionately. He ruffled Luke's hair, and then rested it on Luke's head while he studied him for a minute. Luke felt self-conscious, with Van's eyes digging into him, and the comfortable weight of Van's hand on him.

"What is it?" Luke asked nervously.

"Your hyperresonance," said Van thoughtfully, "I think it would be wise to have me teach you how to control it."

Luke felt a bolt of fear lance through him, weakening his knees for a split second before he caught himself. He remembered those three words which had spelled the end for Luke's innocence: 'foolish replica Luke'.

"Actually, Master Van," said Luke, sounding as firm as possible, "I think I've got the hang of it. It wasn't that hard."

Van stared at him, still with his hand on Luke's head. "Are you being tough for my convenience?"

Luke shook his head, trying to stand tall, but there were several inches separating him and his master. "No, I - it wasn't that hard." At Van's skeptical look, Luke insisted more firmly still. "I'll come and see you if I can't."

Van shook his head slowly, finally dropping his hand to his side. "It may be too late for you if you wait to find me if it's happening quickly. It would be far better if I taught you from the beginning."

Luke resisted the urge to ask how Van knew how to use hyperresonance, and just shook his head. "I - I think I can do it, Master Van."

Van gave him one last soul-searching look before agreeing. "Very well, Luke," Van said reluctantly, "I will trust you."

Luke grinned as widely as his face could manage, and actually succeeded in cheering loudly. "Thanks, Master Van, you won't regret it!"

At this, Van snorted quietly in amusement, and turned to leave the deck.

"I'll leave you to practice it, then," Van said, and he left Luke alone on the deck. As soon as Van was out of sight, Luke turned to the sea and leaned on the railing, sighing deeply. That was a major hurdle overcome. He just had to keep Van from 'helping' with hyperresonance, and things would go smoothly.

Right away, Luke found Van hadn't left him as alone as he'd thought.

_What was that?! _Asch shouted in Luke's ear. Luke winced as a small part of the headache returned with Asch's anger.

_What do you mean?_ Luke asked meekly, trying to calm Asch's anger, as well as figure out what Asch was actually mad about.

Asch paused for a second, and Luke could feel him pull his emotions and thoughts together. _Neither of you trusted each other... _Luke almost didn't hear that part, Asch had said it so quietly. But Asch's typical loudness asserted itself again. _You better give me an answer now, dreck, or you'll regret it!_

Luke would've laughed at Asch's vagueness, except his tone made absolutely sure one took Asch's threats seriously. But he couldn't answer. _I'm just starting to not trust Van as much, like I said._

_You're hiding something, and don't tell me you're not, moron! I can feel every emotion going through that stupid head of yours and I know when you're lying!_

Luke had come upon the worst aspect of the mind-link that he hadn't thought about before. He had wanted to make plans to defeat Van with Asch, but he hadn't considered that Asch would know something was up, when he would obviously be able to. Luke hit his mental head on the nearest mental wall.

Luke frantically tried to think of something, any truth that would work, to tell Asch and have him off of his case, but nothing was coming. He couldn't even lie to Asch, because he could tell.

_...I can't tell you._ Luke wished there was anything else to say to Asch. This would make him even more suspicious but there was nothing else.

_Like the abyss you can't!_

_I'll - I'll tell you sometime! _Luke promised, _But I can't right now. Please, Asch._

_Is that promise on your life?! _Asch demanded.

_...On my life,_ Luke agreed quietly.

_Good. I'll be watching._ Leaving that mixture of threat and promise, Asch retreated from Luke's mind. Before the mind-link faded from Luke's active mind, he noticed that Asch didn't close the door all of the way. Surprised, Luke blinked and then had to just laugh at this unexpected good luck.

* * *

After a day of relaxation, something they weren't used to, they gathered in Guy's room. He said he had something to talk to them about. 

"What is it, Guy?" asked Jade when they were all gathered.

Guy held up a disk, which Luke recognized after a couple of seconds. "It's this."

Everyone tried to get a good look.

"What is it?" asked Anise, speaking for everyone.

"It's a fon disc," answered Guy, lowering the disc, "It was in the fon machine Sync was at where we found Luke."

"Really?" asked Tear in interest, "What's on it?"

Guy shrugged, and pocketed it. "I have no idea." The blond looked to Jade questioningly.

Jade shrugged lightly. "Interesting it may be, I'm no machine. You'll need something a bit more powerful than this sad, little head of mine."

Luke shook his head at Jade, and then looked towards Guy. "Do you think the disc has something about me on it?"

"...Most likely," said Guy truthfully, "If it isn't about what you were in that machine for, I'll be very surprised." Luke noticed Jade frown slightly out of the corner of his eye, but the soldier didn't say anything. Luke said nothing, either, and the impromptu meeting ended with Ion's suggestion that they look into the disc at Chesedonia when they arrived tomorrow.

* * *

They walked into Chesedonia with a healthy number of Oracle Knights accompanying them. Van turned to them once they reached the market, and gestured to his Oracle Knights. They continued on, carrying Arietta among them. 

"I'll be taking my leave from you now," said Van, "I must go on to Daath to deliver Arietta. Your ship leaves on the Kimlascan side, so go to the Kimlascan Consulate."

Luke felt a twinge of regret and then nodded. "I guess we'll see you then."

Van returned the nod, and then turned to his sister. "Tear."

Tear glanced up at him. "Yes?"

"Look after Luke for me."

Tear was surprised. "Oh. Yes."

With that taken care of, Van went and followed his soldiers.

"On to the Consulate," said Guy, and they went deeper into Chesedonia. The market was just as packed and alive as Luke had remembered it. Vendors would both shout from their stalls or come out into the streets, announcing their wares to all who passed by. It was a crazy experience, and 'personal space' lost all meaning.

Eventually they came to the familiar square where the crowd lessened to almost nothing, and Luke felt tension leak out of the group in unison. Without stopping to enjoy the relative peace of the moment, they marched on to the Kimlascan side of town.

"Well, aren't you the handsome one?" They all stopped when they heard a seductive, irresistibly female voice.

Luke's back automatically stiffened as the woman he remembered as Noir placed her hand on Luke's shoulder and spun herself around him suggestively. He compulsively checked his wallet to see that it was still in place, and he grabbed it before she could.

"What do you want?" Luke asked firmly, trying not to sound rude.

Noir discreetly noticed Luke's hand on his wallet, but still played along. "My, such a strong young man! Are you sure you don't know already?"

Luke heard Anise gasp angrily. "Hey, quit trying to steal Luke, you old hag!" Anise shouted shrilly.

Luke winced as Noir dug her fingernails in at the insult. He could see a vein bulging in her neck.

"Sorry, little girl," said Noir coolly, "I had no idea I was interfering with your man." As Anise shrieked obscenities at her, Noir left, dragging her hand along Luke's chest before leaving the area with an air of condescension.

Luke sputtered, his face completely red. Noir hadn't been that forward before! (And he didn't think he would've been prepared for it even if she had...)

After Noir was gone, Guy turned to Luke. "I'm impressed," Guy announced, "I didn't think you knew she was after your wallet."

Luke managed to muddle through a few words of thanks before descending into an embarrassed silence. Amused, the group started walking to the Consulate again.

As they walked, Luke remembered one of the last times he had seen the Dark Wings.

_Noir looked both pitying and condescending. "Asch hired us, remember?"_

_Natalia went forward to see Noir better, full of hope. "So Asch really is here!"_

_Noir glanced at Natalia, sympathetic and understanding of the princess' feelings. "Yeah! He's planning on some mass suicide with the replicas to erase the miasma. My partners are going after Asch now. You kids go look for him, too. Tell him not to do anything stupid."_

_Luke couldn't help the sinking feeling that went deeper and deeper the more Noir said, but he forced himself to be positive, especially since Noir herself was. He could hardly believe how the Dark Wings had changed so much, but there you had it, and they were nearly friends._

_"Got it," he answered. He was going to be as bright as he could, because everyone else was._

He smiled at the memory. He just wished that they could become such friends with the Dark Wings again. He finished reminiscing as they came to the Consulate, and entered.

As they approached the desk, the consul looked up and smiled.

"Ah, Luke fon Fabre, and the emissaries, correct?"

Luke nodded. "Is the ship to Baticul ready?" he asked politely.

"Not quite yet, sir," replied the consul pleasantly, "Perhaps you might do some sight-seeing while you wait?"

"This would be a good opportunity to investigate your fon disc, Guy," Jade pointed out.

"Good idea," agreed Guy.

Luke was about to ask the consul about where they could find a fon disc analyzer, but she was ahead of him.

"I believe Mr. Astor of the Chesedonia Traders' Guild has a fon disc analysis machine," she offered helpfully.

"How about it, Luke?" asked Guy.

"Sounds good," said Luke. He thanked the consul and then lead the group out.

"So this Mr. Astor lives in the middle of the city, right?" Guy confirmed.

"That's correct," said Ion, "His mansion straddles the Kimlasca-Malkuth border, actually."

"What if there's nothing of any consequence on the disc?" inquired Tear as they went back into the middle of town.

Guy shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I just thought it might give us more info on what they were doing to Luke, or something."

They came up to Astor's mansion, and stared at it while trying to look like they weren't staring at it. Luke found that the grandeur of the place was the same as he remembered.

They entered the mansion and Astor greeted them personally almost immediately.

"Fon Master! You should've let me know that you were coming! I'd have prepared a huge welcome!" Astor said loudly.

"That's not necessary," said Ion just as politely, "It would probably be better that our arrival goes unannounced."

"Very well," agreed Astor amiably, "What can I do for you, then? Ask and you shall receive!"

Ion gestured to Guy, and Guy took out the fon disc.

"Could I have this read?" Guy asked, slightly uncomfortable.

"Of course!" said Astor. He clapped his hands and a servant immediately came up to him. Astor pointed at Guy. "Analyze that disc and give the results to him!"

"Yes, sir," the servant said, and did as Astor asked.

"Now, then," said Astor, "I suppose you'll be wanting a place to wait comfortably..."

It was a wait of several hours before the servant returned with the disc and two hefty books under his arm. They spent the time eating the refreshments given to them, and talking amongst themselves.

The servant offered them to Guy, and Guy took them with a word of thanks. The servant bowed and retreated to the side of the room.

"Is that all I can do for you?" asked Astor generously, "You know the Trade Guild would do anything for Fon Master Ion..."

Ion smiled. "No, thank you, this is very kind of you to do this favour for us."

"It was my pleasure, Fon Master, hee hee hee..." Astor trailed off with his trademark laugh.

"We must be going," said Jade unapologetically, and Astor saw them off with several well-wishes and an offer for them to return anytime.

Luke shook his head wonderingly. The man didn't change. Maybe he should stop being so surprised at the similarities. "Some guy, huh?"

"What?" Guy looked up, confused for a moment. "Oh." He went back to reading the books.

"Quite," agreed Tear.

"He was so rich," sighed Anise dreamily. She muttered some things under her breath softly that no one caught, but they could all guess at.

Before Jade could contribute, a green blur appeared in their street and ran at them full speed.

"Sync!" shouted Anise, and she got ready to size up Tokunaga for battle. But Sync went no where near Ion, making a beeline straight for Guy instead.

Luke realized this as soon as Sync had appeared and went in between Sync and Guy with his sword drawn. It was useless. Sync ducked under the blade easily and ran towards Guy. Luke's good intentions backfired on him. Guy couldn't see exactly where Sync was coming from and so couldn't evade Sync's outstretched like he might've been able to. Sync's hand, glowing with an eerie red light, collided with Guy's chest. Guy fell over, almost unable to breathe. He lay there gasping, with the disc and books laying by his hand.

Sync dived for the books, but Luke blocked Sync at the same time. Sync jumped over Luke's torso and landed on the far side of Guy. The small God-General's hands closed on the disc and managed to grasp a book. Guy, trying to recover, grabbed the other book, keeping it safe.

Luke and Jade tried to capture Sync, but he was too fast.

"Hand it over!" shouted Sync, coming around for another run at Guy. Guy had recovered enough to stand up, and clutch the remaining book close to his chest.

"To the ship!" Luke shouted, and Jade shepherded the others to the Kimlascan port first. Luke remained at the back, pushing the others ahead as fast as they could, and fending off Sync when he got too close.

"Give the book to me!" Sync yelled again.

Luke ignored the demand and yelled ahead to the soldier guarding the docks. "Get this ship moving!"

The soldier stopped in the middle of his explanation that the ship was ready, and blinked in surprise at the scene. "Right!"

With Tear in the lead, and Luke blocking Sync getting to Guy, they made it. At the last stretch, Luke sprinted to the already raising ramp, and jumped onto it. Sync was left behind.

Luke leaned on his knees, panting for breath and then stood up. They were safe for now, but what about Guy? He jogged into the quarters area, following the tail end of Jade and where he assumed Guy was recovering.

* * *

Sync stared after the ship. Even if he had been unmasked, his face would have been unreadable. They, especially the Necromancer, couldn't be allowed to read it. Sync guessed that the replica already knew what he was, if what Asch had said in one of his infamous tempers was true. He had also willingly gone along with the process in Choral Castle as if he knew what it was. So there was no problem with this replica Luke reading what was in the books. 

But the others would be a problem. Jade the Necromancer would know for certain what Luke was if he read what was in the books, and the one named Guy was already reading before Sync could interfere. And whatever book they had, the first or second, it would give them the information they needed to figure out what he, Dist and the Commandant were researching.

Sync glanced down at the items in his head, and scowled. He flipped open the first page, and found he was holding the second book of the two. So they had the introduction to all the research, making their job of understanding that much easier.

"So, you let me get away," said a familiar voice behind Sync smugly. Sync felt his face freeze in a grimace immediately.

"I've got the disc and one of the books," Sync responded snidely, "Why don't you do your job and recover the other, already?"

Dist growled angrily and Sync knew Dist was waving his arms without needing to look.

"Dist the Rose - "

"The Reaper," Sync interrupted.

" - The _Rose_, you uncouth infant!" shouted Dist indignantly, "I am the elegent Rose of the God-Generals and I will defeat my opponent Jade today!"

"Good," said Sync, bored, "Go and do it, then." He turned and walked away, intending to leave on a ship for Daath immediately. The research needed to be continued, after all.

He barely heard Dist's furious rant and promise of the revenge journal.

* * *

Guy was doing well. Ion explained what a curse slot was to Tear and Anise, while Luke was preoccupied with the actual appearance of the slot. He sat by Guy's side, staring at the fading red mark on his chest. This time, it really was his fault. He had gotten in Guy's way and had made it worse. 

"...Ion," said Luke, "Is there any difference in power depending on where the curse slot is placed?"

"Not in power," answered Ion, "But the closer the slot is placed to the head, where the memories are kept, the more control the user has over him."

Luke swore at himself. Sync had more control over Guy than even before! Who knew how that would change things? Guy interpreted the look on Luke's face.

"It's not your fault, Luke," Guy said firmly. He had gotten his wind back, and had no problem breathing anymore. "If you want someone to blame, blame Sync for putting this on me."

"But I'm the reason you got hit with it in the chest, Guy," said Luke miserably, "If you had been able to see, you may have gotten it on the arm or dodged it altogether."

"It's alright, Luke," said Guy firmly, "Just leave it alone."

Luke wilted a little bit and nodded uncertainly. Guy clapped a hand to Luke's shoulder, and turned to the others.

Ion, Anise and Tear were in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do and waiting for Jade. Jade, who hadn't participated in this at all, was standing in the corner of the room, rapidly reading the book Guy had saved. The room was quiet until Jade decided to speak; it took a while.

"...They're researching fomicry," said Jade slowly. Luke heard traces of anger in his voice, but he didn't think anyone else did.

"Fomicry?" said Ion in disbelief, "I was under the impression that fomicry is a forbidden technology."

"It is," said Jade grimly.

Luke saw the mood of everyone in the room plummet as they realized what that meant. The Order of Lorelei was corrupt. Luke searched for Ion. His eyes were downcast, and Luke realized that Ion was ashamed on behalf of the entire organization, much like last time. Ion's shame had started before he had even met Luke.

"So tell us more about the research, Jade," said Luke.

Jade looked back down at the book in his hands. "They're looking into isofon research, and Lorelei... Well, the fonon frequency 3.1415926535897... It's the frequency of Lorelei."

"What does it mean?" asked Tear, "Why are the God-Generals researching fomicry and the seventh fonon?"

"Fomicry requires the seventh fonon," explained Jade, "Everything replicated is made up up of seventh fonons, and nothing else."

"Does it say what they're replicating?" asked Anise curiously.

"Well," said Jade darkly, "If they are indeed researching isofons, then it would lead to huge advancements in creating and controlling hyperresonances. Other than that..."

Ion, Luke and Jade experienced a concerted moment of grave quiet.

"What is it?" asked Tear curiously, "Why are you all so grim about this?"

"Well," Luke took upon himself to explain, "Like Jade said, if they're researching isofons, they'll be able to eventually create them. When you think about any army, much less Kimlasca or Malkuth, getting their hands on this knowledge, it could be used as a weapon. Can you imagine what that would be like?"

Tear blinked in surprise, then nodded slowly, clearly thinking. "Yes, that... That would be bad."

Satisfied, Luke turned away and met eyes with Ion. Ion's expression was sad when he looked at Luke, and he shifted uncomfortably.

Hovering over all of their heads, the subject of human replicas was never breached.

* * *

"Finally home!" laughed Luke. He was leaning over the railing with his arms wide open, gazing at the golden tower of Baticul. It was impossible to not feel on top of the world right now. The sun was shining, no clouds, the sea shining with gold and blue, and Baticul was the glowing beacon focusing their ship. Good spirits welled up inside Luke, and he had to laugh to let it all out. 

Guy was behind Luke, and he came up to look at the city. "It is a beautiful place from here," Guy agreed.

"It's gorgeous," declared Luke, "I can hardly believe I live there."

Tear came up to them, having heard them talk. "I've never seen it this way," she said, eyes fixed on the city, "I came from the other side, and it wasn't this sunny."

"Well, there had to be a reason it's called the golden city," said Guy, "Baticul is famous for the sight we're seeing now."

Luke couldn't break his eyes away from the city. He had seen this before, but somehow it seemed so new, so novel. How could he have not realized the city for what it was?

For a moment, all three stood and watched the city slowly get closer in silence.

"Is everyone packed?" asked Tear as it occurred to her.

Luke and Guy nodded.

"The others are doing that right now," explained Luke, "We were just ready first."

"Ah," said Tear, "I'm going to go check on them. Would you two like to come with me?"

"Thanks, but I'll stay here while we wait," said Guy apologetically, "The chance to see this view doesn't come around very often."

"I'll come," offered Luke. He left the railing, and came to Tear's side. Together they went to the quarters.

They came to Anise's room first. She was nearly finished, and furiously trying to throw a final few odds and ends in her bag. Finishing in front of them, she sat on her bag as she tried to close it.

"Hey, guys!" she grunted, and tried to zip it.

"Do you need help?" asked Tear.

"Nope!" Anise answered cheerfully, "Just about got it!"

"Just call us if you change your mind," Luke offered and they went to see Ion. In his room, his bag was already packed, and he was demurely sitting on his bed and staring out the window.

"Hey, Ion," greeted Luke, "What are you doing?"

Ion smiled at Luke, focusing on the real world. "Hello, Luke. I'm just looking outside; it's such a nice day out."

"Quit lying," said Luke amiably, "If that's what was on your mind, you would be up on deck with Guy watching Baticul."

"Well, then, you must forgive me for having a few private thoughts," said Ion, visibly sorry about not telling them.

"That's perfectly alright, Fon Master," said Tear, "Everyone's allowed to have a few secrets, epsecially if you're the ruler of a country."

"Right," said Luke meaningfully. He met eyes with Ion purposefully. Ion looked at Luke, saw something there and nodded.

"I think I understand," Ion said slowly, "I think I will go on deck. Don't worry about accompanying me, I'll find Anise."

"If you're sure, Ion," said Luke. Ion nodded again, and he left the room.

The last one left was Jade. His door was closed and locked. When Luke knocked, there was no answer.

"I think Colonel Jade might already be finished packing," said Tear, "Perhaps we'd better leave."

Luke stared at the door. "...Yeah, sure."

They left the quarters area and returned to the deck to see the sight of Baticul once again.

When the ship had finally docked, getting off of it seemed to take forever. Luke knew it had to be because he was in a hurry, but he still wanted it to go faster. He resisted whining about it.

They were greeted on the docks by General Goldberg, and Lieutenant Colonel Cecille. The two military hosts introduced themselves first. Luke stepped forward and introduced himself first of the group. (In his old life, Jade had told Luke that in international affairs, it was good manners that after the hosts introduced themselves, whoever had ties to the hosting country would introduce themselves immediately.)

"Luke fon Fabre, son of House Fabre, accompanying emissaries of peace on behalf of Emperor Peony the Ninth of Malkuth, and Fon Master Ion of Daath."

The hair on the back of Luke's neck suddenly jumped up, and he half-turned to see nearly all of his companions staring at him incredulously. He fully turned with a graceful bow, and let them introduce themselves. _I can so be cultured when I want to be_, thought Luke snidely. _Proven._

"I am Fon Master Ion of Daath," Ion announced himself without missing a beat, "I carry a letter of peace from His Royal Majesty, Peony the Ninth."

"Colonel Jade Curtiss, of Malkuth's Imperial Forces, Third Division. I represent His Royal Majesty, Peony the Ninth." Jade introduced himself with a bow.

Luke noticed General Cecille's eyes widen at the name, but she refrained from interrupting. There was no doubt she then understood how serious the following negotiations would be.

"Tear Grants, Locrian Sergeant of Oracle Knights' Third Division."

"Anise Tatlin, Ionian Sergeant, Fon Master Guardian."

There was a pause before General Goldberg coughed, and gestured to Guy. "And you, sirrah, would be...?"

Guy looked genuinely shocked before he quickly bowed. "Guy Cecil. A humble servant serving House Fabre."

"Cecil...?" General Cecille said to herself, but loudly enough that Luke could hear her. She shook her head. "Never mind. Colonel Curtiss, I didn't expect you to be here."

Jade bowed with an air of irony. "General Cecille - I return the sentiment."

"Your achievements on the North Rugnican battlefield are impressive," said General Cecille politely, "You certainly gave me a thorough lesson in tactics then."

"Not at all," responded Jade, "If I recall, you were the superior opponent when we fought."

"You are far too kind," answered Cecille, and that was the end of it. General Cecille seemed uncertain of whether to study Jade or Guy - both names held interest for her.

"Very well," rumbled Goldberg, "Shall we accompany you to the castle?"

Luke didn't want to go right away, but he left it up to the others.

"Actually, if it wouldn't be too much trouble," Ion began, "I would like to see a little of Baticul before we commit to business. Is that alright?"

"Absolutely, Fon Master," said Goldberg.

"We will go inform King Ingobert that you've arrived," said Cecille. In unison, the two soldiers turned on their heels, and left the port.

"Shall you guide us, then, Luke?" asked Jade.

Luke shrugged. "I've never actually been out in the city before. Guy would be better."

"Very well, then, Guy," said Ion, "Would you lead us?"

"Alright, then," agreed Guy, "There's a place I've been wanting to show Luke anyway."

"Really?" asked Luke. He wondered if it was Miyagi again, but a visit to Miyagi would be well worth it.

"Yeah, really. Let's go."

With Guy and Luke in the lead, they all left the port. They got on the aircar and entered the city through there.

"Ooh, wow!" said Anise, awed, "It's so big, and majestic!"

Baticul was. The towered city stood, reaching up into the sky. The architecture was amazing, of course, but there was something to be said for the colossal height of the city.

"Is that a chapel?" Tear asked disbelievingly.

Guy looked to wher Tear was staring. "Yeah. That's our local chapel, where you can get your Score read. I think we have a piece of the Sixth Fonstone in there, but it could be only the Fifth."

"Can we go?" asked Luke.

"Why not?" asked Ion, "I'm interested in taking a look."

In the chapel, an elderly priest greeted them. Upon seeing who his guests were, his eyes widened, and he clapped a heart to his chest in surprise. "Fon Master! Master Luke fon Fabre! What an honour it is to see such important guests in this humble chapel today!"

"Humble chapel..," muttered Anise, looking at the obvious wealth of the place.

"Greetings, acolyte," said Ion cordially, "May we have a general reading?"

"Ah, certainly, Fon Master!" said the priest enthusiastically, clapping his hands and bowing respectfully, "If you will all come this way..."

In the back room where the fonstone was kept, they all gathered around the priest. He put his hands on the sizable chunk of fonstone, and closed his eyes. Luke quietly sat through the priest giving everyone their Scores. Luke held up a hand to refuse, and to his surprise, Jade refused a reading as well. His surprise must have shown, because Jade gave him an amused look. Luke broke eye contact.

The general readings were very generic, but Guy, Tear and Anise seemed happy with theirs. Ion received his calmly, with no sign that anything might be amiss.

"Thank you," said Ion graciously, and they left the chapel with a humbled farewell from the venerable priest.

Luke let out a breath after they exited the chapel. The acolytes were always friendly enough, but Luke hated hearing the Score, especially his Score. It just reminded him that his life was this close to being a mistake. The thought made him gloomy, so he pushed all thoughts of the Score out of his head.

"Now, about that place I wanted to show you," said Guy, "I was thinking of Luke when I said it, but all of you might benefit."

"What is it, Guy?" asked Anise, curious. "Is it close? You can't just build up suspense like that and expect us to wait hours for it."

"No, it's really close," assured Guy, "Come on."

Guy led them up the stairs on the right, and they entered a dusty smelling, but clean, dojo. Inside, there was a spry elderly man swinging a sword against some straw dummies.

"Guy!" said the old man with delight, "You've brought friends!"

"Yes, Mr. Miyagi," answered Guy, "This is Mr. Miyagi, a weapons master and martial artist. He's taught me a lot about swordwork and general fighting skills."

"Cool!" exclaimed Luke, playing his part (though he was really happy to see the old man again). "Hey, Mr. Miyagi!"

"Hello, young master," said Miyagi, "You are...?"

"Luke," answered Luke cheerfully, "Can you teach me some sword stuff?"

"Sword stuff, yes," said Miyagi teasingly, "When would you like to start? But, the first question should be, how much time do you have?"

"Uh, not much, I'm afraid. We're in somewhat of a hurry," said Guy, "I just wanted to introduce you two so you'd know each other in the future."

"Ah, of course," said Miyagi, "Well, until then, young Luke. I look forward to passing on what knowledge I have to you." He bowed at the waist.

Luke returned the same bow. "The same to you."

Without anyone else getting a chance to talk with him, they left the dojo, feeling rushed all of a sudden. They started walking towards the elevators.

"He seemed friendly," remarked Tear, "Does he know a lot?"

"Are you kidding?" Guy seemed amazed that it had even come into question. "Miyagi's incredible! He can offer the smallest tip and it turns out to be the root of your problem. He really understands the fighting art."

"I think I'd like to learn from him, too," Tear said thoughtfully.

Guy gave her a look that clearly said that her statement was superfluous. Tear looked away, a little embarrassed.

"Relax, Guy," said Anise, "It's just how Tear is. You know."

With Anise's gentle admonishment, the group dynamic returned to normal, and their focus returned. They got onto the working elevator and went up to the next level.

While they headed for the next elevator, they looked around.

"Hey, Guy," said Anise slowly, "Are the levels of Baticul separated by class?"

"Yeah," said Guy, "Why do you bring that up?"

Anise shrugged. "I dunno. Even though the bottom level of Baticul's really amazing, this level looks even better. The buildings look fancier, and better maintained... The ground's cleaner... There are less people moving around... I guess I just notice things like that."

"Well, that's pretty observant of you," said Guy, "It's the kind of thing they write in textbooks, but it's something else seeing it in person, isn't it?"

"Definitely," agreed Anise, and she continued her avid analysis of the surrounding city.

They came to the elevator that would take them up to the homes of the nobility.

"Welcome to Baticul, madams and sirs," one of the guards said respectfully.

"Thank you," responded Luke. He tried to sound like he had at the docks, with that even tone he always heard Father using. It seemed to work.

They boarded the elevator, and unlike the other one, they could actually see the plains and mountains in front of Baticul. On a day like this one, it still didn't match Baticul's grandeur, but it was still a breath-taking sight. Seeing the world from so high was something Luke only associated with two places - the Albiore and home.

He grinned as they reached the top, and there was only that black fence guarding the top level from a fall to one's death. Luke could never decide if it was exhilarating or scary, and that's why he liked it.

Feeling he could take the lead, Luke started walking towards the castle. Home would be nice, but now he had a job to do.

* * *

I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I'm really not. The last half of the chapter is just... not there. I'm kind of upset about that, but I hope I can get it back. 

But yeah, Luke's not incredibly brilliant - he tells Van he was no idea what a hyperresonance is, and spouts his knowledge off to the group non-stop. It might come back and bite him if he's not careful...


	9. Plans and Plots

**_Promethes Mneme, by apakoha_**

**Author's Notes: **Well, after that incredibly long break where I angsted and whinged to write Promethes again, I'm finally back. I don't have a lot to say about this one, except that I'm feeling pretty happy about this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, because you guys ultimately make me want to continue writing this thing!

Remember, readers! Reviews make this writer's heart sing! (Which I'm sure is true for all writers.)

**Super special thanks to Spartan-3x13, who has graciously decided to beta for me. I'm going to fit in as many apologies to him right now as I can - could I get in a thousand? There was a pretty big blip in communication, and I think all of the blame lies with me. So, Spartan, again: Sorry.**

* * *

Sync was sitting on the top of the_ Apollo_. He rested on his haunches, and watched the events on the deck unfold as Legretta chewed Dist out. Sync also thought Dist was a moron and enjoyed yelling at the scrawny man as well, but it was much more enjoyable to watch. 

"Now they know what we're researching!" Legretta shouted, "How could you _get lost_?!"

"They were already out on the ocean," muttered Dist, "I already had a miniscule chance of finding them."

"It was a straight line to Baticul!"

Sync grinned. Call him sadistic, but he was enjoying this. Dist had no defense.

"Why aren't you screeching at Sync instead?" Dist whined, "He let the other book slip through!"

"Sync did his job, and accomplished more than you did," said Legretta, "Tell me why I shouldn't suspend you as soon as we reach Daath?"

Dist actually knew the answer to this one, to Sync's half-hearted dismay.

"Because I'm the one leading this research, and like it or not, I'm the one with the most knowledge on the subject," said Dist, looking very smug. The man on the chair had found grounding.

Sync leaned back on his heels and sighed, such a shame that Legretta would actually listen to that. Feeling bored now that he knew how the rest was going to go, he went to go examine the fon disc. He hadn't taken a look at it yet, but he hoped that they hadn't erased anything. He hated the thought of having to repeat seven dozen experiments for one constant.

He was in the hallways, and almost to his assigned room. As he stepped accidentally harder, Sync hit a nerve against the corner and it traveled all the way up his body to his heart and tightened around his chest. Sync leaned against the wall of the corridor, trying to catch his breath. With no one around, Sync gagged for breath before finally catching it again. Why couldn't the fool seal just be finished already?

His breath caught, Sync pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards his room again. Just pretend it didn't happen...

* * *

Luke's breathing became thicker as they came closer to the castle. He was so close... He just had to figure out Akzeriuth. All at once, the half-hearted plans he had been making seemed so inadequate. The castle gates were coming closer, and yet Luke could find no way to make his plan better. What else could be done? 

He paused at the door, and half-heartedly listened to the guards greeting. He smiled and nodded without saying a word to them as the guards opened the doors for them.

"They recognize you?" asked Anise, "I thought you never left the manor, right?" She also turned to Guy, seeing if he would give her the answer.

"I think it would be necessary to recognize the king's nephew who lives right there." Luke heard Guy from behind him. He figured that Guy was pointing to the manor before the doors closed behind them but - No! This was distracting! He had to think... Akzeriuth...

No one spoke to Luke as they went further into the castle. This was good, he could think. Which was closer to Akzeriuth, Kaitzur or St. Binah? He needed a map...

He went up the steps, ignoring the others' nervous chatter behind him. It was a dull murmur in the background. If Kaitzur was closer, then they'd go through the Deo Pass. If it was St. Binah, then... Wouldn't that be the Deo Pass, too? Luke couldn't remember and wished they could hold off the audience until he'd had a chance to look at a freaking map!

At the top of the stairs, one of the guards stopped them.

"Halt! What is your business?"

Luke pulled out of his thoughts to deal with life in real-time. "Business...? We wish to see the king on a matter of great importance. Is the king in audience?"

"On who's behalf do you speak?" the guard asked.

"Mine, Luke fon Fabre, his benevolence Fon Master Ion, and a representative of Emperor Peony the Ninth, we are emissaries of peace."

If the guard was surprised at all, it didn't show. "The king is not in audience. I will announce you."

"Thanks," said Luke, slipping away from formal speech, while thinking about that. Uncle had been with Mohs last time, and Luke had had to barge in. What was going on?

The guard opened the door, bowed deeply, and spoke loudly into the room. "Emissaries from Daath and Malkuth, accompanied by Master Luke fon Fabre humbly ask Your Majesty grant them audience."

When the soldier stepped to the side, still bowing, Luke took the cue and walked in. The others followed, used to this level of formality.

When they approached the throne, King Ingobert smiled. "Luke, my nephew? Susanne's son? You don't need to be so formal with me."

Luke flushed a little, and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, sorry. I've never really been for an audience before."

"That's fine Luke." said King Ingobert, "Now what's this business all about?" He gestured to the rest of his group.

"Let me begin introductions, King Ingobert," said Ion, "I am Fon Master Ion. I come bearing a letter of peace, from His Glorious Majesty, Emperor Peony the Ninth."

Jade stepped forward, and everyone followed Ion's example. King Ingobert studied Ion and Jade closely.

"Peony offers peace? Malkuth is not preparing for war?"

Jade nodded. "He does. The only preparing we have done is to be ready if an attack comes against us first."

"I see," said King Ingobert. Jade's near lack of tact was obviously refreshing to him, because he smiled more widely at that. "May I see the letter, Fon Master?"

"Certainly," responded Ion, and he came up to the king to hand over the paper.

King Ingobert read it over. It took a few minutes, and they waited patiently. From looking at his uncle's face, Luke wondered if that letter was a formal declaration of peaceful intentions or... Something more personal - from one man ruling a nation to another. Luke felt uncomfortable at the thought, but couldn't think why. It wasn't his lack of self-confidence again, was it?

After he had finished reading, King Ingobert looked up at the party.

"Luke, I must admit I was surprised to see you arrive with such poise, and in this company."

Unsure, Luke nodded.

His uncle continued. "What do you think?"

With such a broad question, Luke had to stop thinking about Akzeriuth temporarily and gather his answer. This could be a very important opportunity.

"Um..," Luke put his words carefully, "I think Emperor Peony is really, really genuine. I don't know what you've been told…" Luke thought of Mohs with disgust. "but Malkuth is really peaceful. I didn't see anything that would suggest that they're making an army, and all I've seen is evidence that both P - the emperor and the country really want no violence. If Kimlasca attacked, we'd be the bad guys."

"Is that so?" King Ingobert asked rhetorically, "Anything else?"

Hundreds of words flew through Luke's head before he chose words that defined his stance. "In my... honest opinion, war would be the worst option possible. You should do whatever you can to avoid war, no matter what happens."

The king stared at Luke for a few moments before slowly nodding. "I see."

There was a silence. Luke shifted uncomfortably, and noticed something. "Hey, where are Alpine and Goldberg?"

"They are nearby," answered King Ingobert, "I'm expecting them to come here in a few minutes. Would you all mind waiting until then? I have something I wish to ask of you." The king's face was thoughtful as he looked at the letter in his hands again.

_Akzeriuth!_Trembling, Luke nodded and went back to wait with his friends.

Luke waited a few uncomfortable minutes, and couldn't help fidgeting. They were wasting time!

Finally, Alpine and Goldberg entered. They quickly went to the king's foot, and waited.

"Thank you for being so patient," said King Ingobert, "Alpine, there is news from Peony about Akzeriuth. Please explain what we knew about the situation before the letter came."

"Yes Your Majesty," said Alpine. He turned to the group, and set himself very seriously with his arms behind his back. "You are all aware of the mining city, Akzeriuth?"

There were mute nods.

"Good. The city used to belong to Kimlasca, but there were a series of military conflicts around it. The city now fully belongs to the Malkuth Empire. But unfortunately, the city has become filled with the miasma. The residents are sick, and many are unable or unwilling to leave." Alpine explained this evenly, without going too fast or too slow.

Luke heard gasps, but he just narrowed his eyes._Come on..._

"Unfortunately, I can not speak any more on the matter until I have had a chance to speak with my council about the issue. When we meet tomorrow, know that a good deal of talk will be concerning Akzeriuth. Since there is nothing that can be said for now, is everybody ready to retire?"

Alpine took his cue. "We're prepared rooms for our emissary guests. If you would allow me to escort you...?"

"Actually," said Ion, "I'd love to visit Luke's manor. Is that alright?"

"Of course, Fon Master," responded Alpine, "If you would, please return to the castle when your business is done."

"Very well," said Ion, and Jade agreed as well.

There was a pause where no one spoke.

"It seems there's nothing else for now," said King Ingobert, "Luke, you should visit your mother."

"Why?" asked Luke, worried, "Is something wrong?"

"With your disappearance, Suzanne grew very ill," King Ingobert explained. "It would do her well to see you alive and healthy."

"Yeah, right away," said Luke. He frowned in worry. He knew Mother would have gotten sick, but it still wrenched something deep in him every single time.

"Excellent. Natalia is currently tending to her right now, and she will be happy to see you as well. Thank you, Luke."

Luke bowed, and led his friends away. Outside of the throne room, Luke let his breath out. The tension didn't go away. He was split between running to see Mother and going back and asking Alpine for a map...

"What now, Luke?" asked Tear.

"To my manor, I guess," said Luke, "Come on."

They left the castle and across the courtyard to the Fabre Manor. A White Knight greeted them there with an enthusiastic bow.

"Master Luke! It's an honor to see you alive and well!" The knight remained bowing, and Luke nodded back.

"Thank you," he said politely.

He entered the manor with everyone following him and his father came up to him.

"Father!" said Luke, surprised. General Cecille was accompanying Duke Fabre, and it was clear that they were on their way out.

"I see you're home," said Duke Fabre, "I heard from Cecille. Thank you for your help, Guy."

"...It was my privilege, sir," said Guy, bowing.

"Ah, the emissaries," continued Duke Fabre, "Please, make yourselves comfortable in my home."

"Thank you," said Ion politely.

"Luke, did you see Dorian General Grants? Where is he?" asked Cecille.

"Ah..," Luke tried to recall, "We split up in Chesedonia... He's coming by boat."

"I'll head to the port, sir!" said Cecille.

"Very good," said Duke Fabre, "I'll leave Van to you." Cecille bowed and left the manor. When she left Duke Fabre turned his attention to the group gathered in his hall. He found Tear quickly.

"I hear you're the one responsible for spiriting my son halfway across the world." Whether he was angry or not, that tone was still intimidating.

"...I was," said Tear quietly, "I apologize."

"I see. I don't suppose you were plotting with Van instead of trying to assassinate him...?"

"I'm sorry?" Tear looked as confused and offended as was safe in front of a duke.

"Never mind," said Duke Fabre, and he brusquely left.

There was an awkward silence.

"That was odd," said Guy, staring after him.

"Well," said Luke with false cheer, "let's go on, shall we?"

He went on to the drawing room. If memory served him, Natalia would be through here... He felt guilty going here when Mother was sick, but they had to meet Natalia first. Luke couldn't imagine traveling the world without her.

When they entered, Natalia turned to see them and her face transformed.

"Luke!"

Luke grinned and he ran forward to hug her.

"Natalia! How've you been? Okay?"

"Luke, I was worried sick about you! Do you even know what it's done to your poor mother?" Natalia was battling between accusations and relief. She switched from folded arms to a hand on Luke's shoulder a few times and decided to leave her hands at her side somewhat helplessly.

"Yeah," said Luke, feeling guilt well up again. "Uncle told me. We're on our way to visit her."

"We?" asked Natalia and she looked past him. "Oh! All of you?"

"Yes, your Highness," said Guy, "These are emissaries from Daath and Malkuth, who wanted to visit Luke's home."

"Oh, my," said Natalia with a hand to her mouth, "I must introduce myself. I am Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear, daughter of King Ingobert the Sixth. I am Luke's cousin."

They went through shorter, less formal introductions, and everyone was put on first name basis, with a little nudging from Luke of course.

"Now, Guy," said Natalia, her tone changing, "Didn't I ask you to come see me before you left looking for Luke?"

Guy grinned nervously, and kept a careful eye on the distance between him and Natalia. "I'm sorry. I got carried away with last-minute preparations and I guess I forgot."

Natalia glanced at Luke before she spoke again. "It's... alright, Guy. But please let me know next time. I was worried sick."

"I'll do that, your Highness." Guy seemed relieved, which Luke found sad. He shouldn't have that kind of reaction because he was being shown kindness instead of cruelty. It should be natural to be shown kindness. Luke wished he could just skip ahead to the way things used to be, so he wouldn't have to deal with these old behaviors anymore.

"So, how's Mother?" asked Luke. He kept his hands at his side and refused to put them in his pockets.

Natalia sadly shrugged. "Well, she's frail, Luke. She's been wasting away ever since you disappeared. It was like you were kidnapped again. Nobody knew what to do."

"That sounds bad," said Anise, almost whispering.

"Yes," agreed Natalia, "In fact, why are you wasting time here Luke? Go and see her!"

"R-right!" said Luke and he quickly stepped the way to his parents' room. Natalia was encouraging the others to follow him. The only one who didn't need encouragement was Tear, as her feet were driven by guilt. He didn't bother to knock on the door and simply walked through.

"Mother?" he said into the room. Susanne's head lifted from the bed and Luke saw her pale face, emphasized by the dark lines under her eyes. "Mother!"

"Luke!" said Susanne, "Luke, you're alive!" Susanne immediately got up from bed, covered with a modest nightgown, and she ran to Luke, embracing him. Luke ran to her also, and nearly picked her up.

Susanne laughed and hugged him around the shoulders. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Madam?" said Tear, stepping forward timidly. Luke stepped back from Susanne so she could see Tear clearly.

"Yes?" said Susanne.

Tear feel to her knees in front of Susanne. "I must apologize," Tear said, "I'm the one responsible for taking Luke away, though what happened was not my intention."

Susanne seemed stunned. "You..." She didn't say anything for a while, and there was the air of fidgeting in the room. Luke was about to say something when Susanne had gathered what she was going to say.

"Who are you?" asked Susanne.

Tear blinked. "I - I'm Tear Grants. Van's younger sister."

"So you were coming to visit him?" said Susanne.

"Not quite," said Tear, her voice lowering, "We were - are - fighting."

Susanne's eyes closed in sadness. "Family fighting each other is such a waste. Please promise me you'll make up with him."

Tear hesitated before nodding. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you."

Susanne shook her head. "I must thank you for coming to see me and proving that Luke wasn't kidnapped again. Now, Luke, go show everyone that you're here, safe and sound."

"But what about you?" said Luke in protest, "You're sick!"

"I'm fine," said Susanne, "Go on."

"Alright," said Luke. When he left the room with his friends, he glanced back and saw his mother sit down on her bed with her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face. He smiled sadly and closed the door behind him.

Outside in the courtyard, his friends were admiring the manor.

"This is such a gorgeous place, Luke!" said Anise, "It's so high up, too!"

"Yeah," said Luke, "I never really knew it was so..." He trailed off. " - high-class."

"Not until you've seen the other places in the world, huh, Luke?" said Guy. Luke smiled and nodded, before thinking back to Akzeriuth. He needed a world map. There must be one in the manor somewhere.

"Hey, Guy, think you can show them around?" said Luke, "I need to check on something."

"Sure, Luke," said Guy, but he looked a little confused, "Want me to stay away from your room?"

Luke thought about it, then nodded. "Yeah." If Jade saw every single one of his own books strewn across Luke's floor, who knew what that would make him think?

"Alright, then."

With that, Guy turned to the others. "Hey, I'm going to take you around while Luke takes care of some business."

Luckily no one pried into Luke's business and accepted that. Luke ran to find a book on geography or maps, and missed the thoughtful looks that Jade and Natalia gave him as he left the courtyard.

"Map, map," said Luke to himself, entering various rooms, "Where do Mother and Father keep our books?" His own books were in his room, but he knew there was a library for everyone else here, too. He eventually found it when he asked a White Knight for help, who pointed him to the right door. Luke thanked him and ran through it.

Their library was very clean and tidy. Knowing it would be well-organized, Luke ran to the geography section and pulled out book after book. With a pile at his side, he sat on the floor and flipped through the pages, looking for a world map. At the very least, a map of Malkuth would do. He soon found what he looking for, and he looked around for a pen and paper to use. There was a neat stack on the front table by the door and Luke silently thanked the maids for being so useful.

He grabbed a stack of paper and held a pen above the paper as he studied the map he had flipped to. Akzeriuth was surrounded by mountains on every side. Since the roads were down, the only way to get in was through the Deo Pass from Kaitzur. That was on the Kimlascan side. There was no way to get to St. Binah through the mountains that quickly. Many civilians would die if they tried it. So the only choice was Kaitzur.

Luke scribbled down 'evacuation to Kaitzur' on the paper. He looked at Deo Pass on the map and thought about leaving civilians there if they needed to. He couldn't visualize the revised maps that had been made after the fall of Akzeriuth, so Luke carefully put his pen on the book and drew the shape he vaguely remembered. The line went right through the Deo Pass. Luke stared at that in dismay, and scribbled 'no Deo Pass' under the first line he had written. Even if his improvised lines weren't accurate, it was too close to say it would be safe.

Luke kept the book open as he thought about the next move. Last time, Ion had been kidnapped, and they'd needed to pass through Chesedonia and the Zao Ruins. Luke flipped to the world map a few pages ahead and examined the path. It they just took the ship instead, while Van was the one on foot... They would have plenty of time to start the evacuation while Van was in transit. He would have to watch Ion closely. In fact... Luke decided to make sure Ion stayed at the manor tonight and the next.

So they would skip the desert and Chesedonia entirely if that worked out. They would go straight to the Kaitzur Naval Port, then Kaitzur, then the Deo Pass, then Akzeriuth... Good. Luke wrote that down. Now, to make sure that Ion wouldn't be kidnapped. Luke knew exactly how it happened the last time and he knew who was behind it. Luke was never going to forget the first time he had seen Asch face to face (and by association, how they had gotten there).

He tilted his head and leaned against the bookshelf. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

_Asch?_

There was a small pause before he got a grumpy answer.

_What do you want, replica?_

_I'm worried for Ion_, said Luke,_ Can you make sure nobody in the Order tries to kidnap him?_

_What, are you stupid? _said Asch, _I can't just do that! Van would be on to me in a second! My orders are to take the Fon Master. Think of something else!_

_Sorry, _said Luke, _but I don't have any other choice. If Ion is taken, I'll have to come and rescue him and I can't afford the time it's going to cost. Can't you make something up?_

_Only if you make it so that there's no chance I can get at him, _said Asch, _If it's so important, I'm sending people tomorrow night. Now, is there anything else? I have other things to do today._

_Who are you sending? _asked Luke.

_Why is it your business?_ snapped Asch, _All you need to know is that I'm sending people._

It must be the Dark Wings. Luke nodded, forgetting that Asch couldn't see him, and ignored Asch's rudeness. _Right._

_Is that all?_ said Asch.

_Yeah,_ said Luke reluctantly, _Thanks for the warning, then._

Luke felt Asch ready to leave when he became dizzy for a split second, and realized that Asch had taken a look through his eyes. Why did he have to figure out how to do it _now_?

_What's that?_ said Asch, a threat rising in his voice.

_Planning, _said Luke, determined to stay calm. After all, he was just an ambassador trying to do the best job possible, right? _For the Akzeriuth mission._

_Akzeriuth..._ said Asch. He was so quiet in the next minute that Luke thought he had left. He spoke again when Luke was still wondering. _Listen up, replica! When I tell you to do something, you do it, understand?_

_...Uh, yeah, _said Luke._ Okay._

_If you don't, you're with Van and you're my enemy, got it? _Asch threatened._  
_  
Barely fazed, Luke agreed._ Yeah, I get it. _

Asch left and Luke grinned at himself. He was getting used to Asch's venom.

But as for his plans, that meant Ion could stay in the castle for one night. It was tomorrow that he needed to be under Luke's watch. And more than that, Luke needed to make Ion understand that walking off with strangers was a Bad Thing. Luke scribbled some more things down, and mentally prepared for whatever would come next. And unlike before, having a plan settled didn't make Luke any less tense.

He put the books away (and hoped no one would pick up the book he drew in), and put the paper he had used in his jacket pocket. He put the pen and extra paper away and then went out to meet with his friends again.

He met them in the entrance hall where Guy was explaining the sword hanging there with his eyes shadowed. The others seemed to be drawn into Guy's dark tale of how the duke had conquered an enemy and brought in the commander's head, even though Guy gave no details. Luke waited until Guy was done before stepping in.

"That's pretty gruesome," he said, and stepped next to Guy. Guy gazed up at the sword and nodded slowly.

"It really is," said Guy.

"You have such a cool house!" said Anise, "I'd love to live in a place like this!"

"I guess it is pretty nice," said Luke, "But it's just home to me."

"It must be nice to call such a fancy place like this 'home'," said Anise.

Luke shrugged. "Did you show them everything, Guy?" asked Luke.

Guy nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Alright, then," said Luke, "Is everyone ready to turn in?"

"I suppose so," said Ion, "You have a lovely home, Luke."

Luke jumped on this. "Well, would you like to stay here? Maybe... tomorrow night?" _Come on, please say yes..._

Ion's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh, what a generous offer! I don't know."

Luke grinned. "Come on, it's the most I can offer to the Fon Master. I can ask Uncle, I'm sure he'll say yes to the second night."

"Well, if it's alright with your family, I'd be honored to," said Ion.

"Second night?" asked Natalia. Luke turned to her.

"Well, if Grand Maestro Mohs arrives late tonight like Alpine said, then we plan the Akzeriuth mission tomorrow, and leave the day after. That's two nights, right?"

"Oh, right," said Natalia, "I guess I was thinking that the Grand Maestro would be in earlier."

"It was an interesting experience," said Jade, "If only we could have had the next man of the house take us around himself."

Luke half-heartedly glared at him, and shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, Jade. Next time."

"It's a great place, Luke!" said Anise, "It's just too bad that you were busy."

"Yeah. See you, Anise," said Luke. Natalia, Jade and Anise left with a good-bye.

"Wait, Ion, I'll go with you and talk to Uncle about you staying," said Luke.

Luke looked at Tear, and impulsively asked her, "Do you... want to stay at my place, too?"

"A-are you offering?" asked Tear. If Luke was looking at her, he would've seen her surprise.

"Well, I mean," said Luke, "We have loads of room. You wouldn't be a trouble or anything."

Tear was blushing. "Well, I'll think about it. I'd like to go look around the city, if you don't mind."

"Take Guy as an escort while I'm with Ion and Uncle," said Luke, and Guy twitched in his peripheral vision, "You shouldn't be going around the city alone."

Tear frowned a bit at that, but she nodded in acceptance. "Very well." She and Guy left the manor. Luke stared after her, hoping he hadn't offended her by that. He guessed it did sound like he didn't think she could handle herself in the city. But she hadn't said anything, so Luke could only take that as a good sign.

"Do you like her?" asked Ion, and Luke jumped.

"Uh..."

Ion laughed and his eyes danced in happiness. "I'm glad. I think you two will be good for each other."

"But what if I'm scaring her off?" said Luke, looking at the doorway, "What if she doesn't like me?"

"I'm sure you'll bring her around," said Ion, "There's a very familiar quality in you that she recognizes."

"Familiar?" said Luke, and he turned to see Ion so the boy could explain.

"It's the way you are," said Ion, confident, "When people meet you, you might have been friends with them forever from the way you act."

"R-really," said Luke, "That's... weird."

"It's not a bad thing," said Ion, "In fact, I find it very comforting. You're like a friend already made."

"Oh," said Luke, "I think I get it."

Since it wasn't a bad thing, Luke didn't want to stop it, but... Could this be used as any kind of proof that he wasn't exactly who he said he was? Luke hoped not.

"Well, come on," said Luke, "Let's go see Uncle again."

They went to the castle and entered the throne room without any preamble this time.

"Ah, Fon Master Ion and Luke," said King Ingobert, "What can be done for you?"

"Er, Uncle," said Luke, "I'd like it if I could have Ion stay at the manor tomorrow night. Is... that alright?"

"Why, that's a generous offer," said King Ingobert, "Have you discussed this with your parents yet?"

"Not yet," said Luke, "I thought it would be better to ask you first."

"What does the Fon Master have to say on the matter?" King Ingobert said, nodding at Ion.

"I would be honored to stay in Luke's home for a night," said Ion, smiling at Luke.

"Then I see no problem," said King Ingobert, "If you would like to turn in for the evening, Alpine would be delighted to show you the way."

"That would be wonderful," said Ion and King Ingobert rapidly called Alpine to the throne room to get Ion to his room. King Ingobert and Luke were alone in the room.

There was nothing left to say except a greeting, so Luke said his goodbyes and left.

When he got back to the manor, he saw that Tear and Guy were back.

"Hey, how did things go?" he asked.

"We talked," said Guy evasively.

"Just clearing our heads," said Tear, "I've decided I'll stay here for the duration of our stay."

"Great!" said Luke, "I'll show you to a room you can use!"

Guy laughed as Luke dragged Tear off, leaving him alone to do as he pleased. Tear was mostly silent as Luke pulled her along, only letting out small incoherent bursts of embarrassed noise.

Luke went down some hallways on his parents' side again, and found a clean, empty room that he was sure would be a simple path back to the drawing room. It was a nice, simple room, and Luke had chosen it for that reason. He felt that Tear would be embarrassed, in a bad way, if he gave her a luxurious room. His father would probably throw a fit if he gave out one of_ those_ guest rooms without asking first, anyway.

He let go of Tear's hand and led her into the room. "Well, what do you think?"

Tear stepped around the room, looking around.

"I like it," she said, and there was a moment of awkward silence.

"So..," said Luke, casting around for something to say - something not related to Akzeriuth and not about work.

But Tear had something to say. "You have a kind mother," she told him. Her voice was quiet.

"Well... Yeah. I guess I do."

Tear nodded, seemingly satisfied with that.

Luke continued, knowing she was still feeling guilty.

"But I wouldn't worry about her, Tear," he said, "She's always been a bit... frail. Me going away like that just added to it. Her getting sick like that isn't too out of the norm."

"Thanks," said Tear, and she sat down on the bed. "That does make me feel a bit better about it."

"Yeah," said Luke, smiling. He glanced out through the window and exhaled in surprise. It was already past sunset. He should go. "Well, I guess I'll leave you alone. See you tomorrow morning."

Tear hummed in agreement and waved goodbye. "Tomorrow, then."

Luke left the guest room and went to his own room. As he walked, he tried to explain to himself the awkwardness in the room between him and Tear. Things had been going well between them, weren't they? Why were things all of a sudden different? Maybe he was being too forward... Luke hadn't been so forward before, so maybe Tear was getting - Luke stopped at his door with his outstretched hand frozen in horror. An idea occurred to him.

This wasn't his Tear. She was a completely different person than Luke knew. It took longer than it should have for this fact to sink in and let Luke move from his stricken state.

Even when he moved, it was sluggish and unsure. Luke opened the door and barely managed to close it behind him. Not his Tear. He sat down on his bed and flopped down, staring blankly at his ceiling. (Probably not his ceiling, either.) She wasn't his Tear. This Tear didn't watch him destroy Akzeriuth, didn't see him cut his hair, hadn't accepted her brother being a murderer, and hadn't made amends with Legretta. This Tear hadn't watched him change, and his better nature was nothing out of the ordinary to her.

The two matters foremost in his mind fought. This wasn't his Tear - think of Akzeriuth! Tear didn't know who he was - Akzeriuth is going to fall! He had to know Tear right now - but even she would think Akzeriuth was more important.

Luke reached into his jacket pocket awkwardly and pulled out the piece of paper, going over the words non-stop in his mind. If it wasn't his Tear, then this wasn't his Guy. Not his Natalia, or Jade, or Anise, or Ion or even the same Van. This wasn't even his real home! Luke rubbed the paper between his fingers, thinking about it while the light of the sun died.

Didn't Lorelei say from the beginning that it was a different world? Luke remembered the words, but he knew now that they had left his head the moment he saw Van and Natalia in the drawing room. It was hard to get over it. They were real people, these new mask-people imitating his companions. That's what had tricked Luke. They didn't know Luke, thus they must not be entirely real.

Luke was drowning in soul-deep loneliness. He was the only one who knew what was going on, and everyone else was in the dark. His side didn't know Van's plan, and Van's side didn't know that Luke was a secret weapon. But as the sun crept over the horizon, there was a new idea creeping into his mind. Luke grinned darkly, baring his teeth at nobody as he realized his special place in the grand scheme of the world. He was the Scion. He was a celestial messenger sent by Lorelei himself and he alone had the gift to change this world -

There was a knock on the door. Luke came back to himself, blinking when he realized that the sun had long set and light stones had been activated in his room. He went up and answered the door. It was Guy.

"Hey, Luke," said Guy, smiling slightly.

"Oh. Hey," said Luke. His head was clearing and he was finding it hard to believe that Guy was merely a shadow of the man Luke once knew.

"How are you doing?" asked Guy. He sounded concerned, and Luke had to fight the illusion that Guy was real.

"Fine," said Luke, "Why?"

Guy lifted his hands up in defense and laughed. "Aw, come on. Don't be so short. I was just wondering if you knew why Duke Fabre was going after Van today."

Luke lost the battle and admitted that Guy was real. "Is Master Van in trouble?"

"Yeah," said Guy, relaxing against a post, "He was just arrested and put in the dungeons."

Luke stared, even though he knew it was coming. "...Alright. I'll keep that in mind for tomorrow."

"The briefing, huh?" said Guy, "Get some sleep, Luke. Oh, and be positive."

Guy smiled, and left to go to his own room for the night. Luke stared after him, and thought of all possible meanings of the word 'positive'.

* * *

Luke woke up the next morning drained of his confidence. Oh, he still had his basest pride in himself and all that, but when he thought of Akzeriuth, his stomach heaved threateningly and he couldn't get the image of the crumbling passage ring out of his head. His arrogance yesterday seemed hollow in the light of the imminent disaster. 

As he got ready for the day, Luke tried to push at Asch to make sure no one had tried to kidnap Ion overnight. He got a large shove in return with the implied 'Don't worry.' (When Luke put it nicely.)

Feeling slightly better, but needing to check for himself, Luke rushed over to the castle. When he got there, everyone had already arrived. In the back of his mind, Luke thought that his being the last one awake would never change, no matter what world he was in. It didn't seem to surprise anybody else, either.

But the important thing was Ion standing right there. Luke hid his relief in a smile which he gave everyone.

"Hey, guys!"

He received 'good mornings' from all of them, and avoided meeting eyes with the Tear that wasn't his. Guy got straight to business with informing Luke of events.

"Grand Maestro Mohs has just arrived," said Guy, "Once he's been settled in and had his audience with King Ingobert, we'll all go in for the meeting about Akzeriuth."

"So we're just hanging around here for a few hours?" asked Luke.

"Yeah," said Guy, and he looked to the others. "Well, what do we want to do while we wait?"

"I think it would be best if we remained close to the castle," said Jade. The older man's tone and bearing were nothing to be underestimated. Luke wondered what it was about Jade that made him want to listen so much. His own father had nothing that could compare. The closest person Luke could compare Jade to was Van. They had the same state of being that commanded Luke's attention, and Luke couldn't understand it. Even now, he was agreeing with Jade's sense.

"Then why don't we find Princess Natalia and have her show us around the castle?" said Tear, "Do you know where she is, Luke?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," said Luke, hesitant when Tear spoke. He wondered if this tension had appeared only last night or if it had been building since he spoke to her on the ferry.

He found Natalia on the way down, and for the rest of the morning, they led their foreign friends and Guy around the most public areas of the castle. If Luke wasn't so anxious to get into the throne room, he would have gazed at the awesome architecture of the main hall that peaked into a mural of the night sky, or the stone pillars that were a glorious mix of bronze, brown and gold, or the other treasures of the castle. But he didn't, and the hours leading up to the meeting were simply torture.

So involved was Luke in his own pseudo-angst, he didn't notice the looks he got from everyone. They were curious looks bordering on irritation at Luke's unconscious fidgeting. Like clockwork, Luke would stare in the direction of the throne room and tug his hair nervously. He would absently crack his fingers. When Natalia was explaining something, Luke would stare into space and cross his arms so firmly everyone knew he desperately didn't want to be there.

When Natalia looked at a nearby clock for the time, and found it was noon, everybody was relieved. Luke was unaware of the edginess he had instilled in most of the group, and sped to the throne room. Only when Natalia called to him did Luke realize he was apart from the group and stopped himself so they could catch up.

The guard let them into the throne room right away, and Luke guessed that most knew of the meeting that was about to take place. They had to wait another hour once they were there because the king and Mohs had retired for lunch. Luke refused to leave the throne room with everyone else and sat on the floor the whole time, hoping the time would pass faster if he blinded himself staring out the window.

The minutes crawled, but slowly, people returned. It was now the middle of the afternoon. Luke ignored his hungry stomach and stood up even straighter as the last person, Alpine, entered the throne room carrying a fon stone.

When everyone was gathered, King Ingobert spoke. "As some of you already know, an emergency meeting was called last night after my nephew, Luke, returned and gave his report on the situation in Malkuth. We preemptively decided on a peace treaty with Malkuth, despite Grand Maestro Mohs' disappointing news."In his letter of peace, Emperor Peony also requested aid for Akzeriuth since their roads to the city are entirely blocked. We are going to send a team to treat and rescue the miners in Akzeriuth as a sign of goodwill."

Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw almost everyone's faces lift. This was truly good news to them.

"This is excellent news," said Ion, "Who are you planning to send?"

"First and foremost," started King Ingobert, "I would like to send Luke as our goodwill ambassador."

Luke feigned surprise, which wasn't hard when his heart was beating so fast. "R-really?!"

"Yes," said King Ingobert, "I don't know how Susanne will react, but this is my decision."

"O-oh. I see," said Luke. He wished this could go faster.

"Now, as the ambassador, you have the responsibility to represent Kimlasca. Can you do this?" The king waited for Luke's 'yes' before continuing. "Who would you like to accompany you?"

"Guy," said Luke automatically. He thought hard about what he was about to say next, double-checking with himself to be sure it was the right choice. "...And Master Van."

"Van?" questioned King Ingobert, "He's in the Baticul dungeons right now for treason."

"Treason?" said Ion, "What has he done?"

"That's confidential," said Alpine.

"I don't want him there," confided the king, "He's too valuable a soldier and I think he's more loyal than his actions would denote. Perhaps you could go make a deal with him, Luke? His cooperation on this mission for his freedom."

"...I could do that," said Luke. Uncle was completely wrong about Van's loyalty, but it wasn't like anybody would believe him if he told them Van was planning to destroy the world and replace it.

"I'm pleased," said King Ingobert, "Who else should go?"

"I support the decision to send Commandant Grants," said Mohs, "I would also like to send Tear Grants."

"I'm assuming that the Fon Master and Emperor Peony's representative will be going as well?" King Ingobert asked.

Both Ion and Jade nodded. Natalia looked at her father hopefully, and Luke's eyes brightened.

"Is there anyone else to go?" asked the king.

"Actually, Uncle," said Luke, "I'd really like Natalia to go with us." The reactions in the room were varied. Natalia herself stared at Luke with her mouth closed shut in shock. Guy blinked and his eyebrows rose. Anise looked happily curious in the surrounding court interest. Jade, Tear and Ion didn't look very surprised at all, and Luke couldn't tell what they were feeling about this at all. Alpine and Goldberg brought their shoulders up and Luke could almost see their hackles being raised. King Ingobert himself stilled in his throne and studied Luke.

"Why?" said King Ingobert, "Why Natalia?"

Luke had thought about this a little beforehand, but he still needed to gather his idea for a second. "Well, I'm assuming you're sending me because I'm your sister's son - one of the heirs. So as a way to show Malkuth you're even more serious about this peace than they are, what would be more convincing than sending your own daughter?"

Jade's face was thoughtful as he looked at the Kimlascan monarch's on the thrones. Luke was proud of himself for coming to that conclusion. If there was any guarantee of Natalia's safety, it would be the perfect political move. But he had forgotten about the fon stone in Alpine's arms.

King Ingobert glanced at the stone before looking at Luke again. "That would be wonderful logic if I was sending you because you were one of the heirs to Kimlasca, Luke. But the real reason you're going as the goodwill ambassador is because of what's written on our piece of the Sixth Fonstone Alpine has. Is there someone here who can read it for us? Tear?"

Tear stepped forward to Alpine. She leaned over it, and cautiously put a hand to it. "Yes, Your Majesty... ND2000. In Kimlasca shall be born the scion of Lorelei's power. He will be of royal blood with hair of red. He shall be called the 'light of the sacred flame' and he will lead Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to new prosperity. ND2018. The young scion of Lorelei's power shall bring his people to the miner's city. There... There's no more written there."

"Thank you, Tear," said King Ingobert, "As you see, Luke, even if what's there isn't complete, it's more than enough to tell us that you are the young scion and you have been chosen to go on this journey."

Luke tilted his jaw out stubbornly without even realizing it. "I still want Natalia to come. She knows how to handle herself."

King Ingobert was shaking his head. "Luke, I cannot allow you to take my one and only daughter to somewhere as dangerous as Akzeriuth."

Natalia's eyes blazed as she defended herself. "Father, I want to go! I can serve as an ambassador just as well as Luke. And Luke was right - it does make sense to send me if Kimlasca is serious about making peace with Malkuth."

"We talked about this last night, Nat - "

"Natalia for Van."

The throne room fell silent, and heads turned to Luke. His friends behind him let out breaths in a knowingly amused way, and Luke belatedly realized he forgot to call Van his master, but it didn't seem to matter because people were listening.

"If I go and convince Van to come with us, then you send Natalia alongside me as the Kimlascan head ambassador." Luke delivered his ultimatum with finality. He ignored everyone except King Ingobert because he knew his face would be red as a tomato if he saw the looks he was getting.

King Ingobert alternately stared at Luke and Natalia for a very long moment. Even Mohs looked uncomfortable after several minutes had passed. The only ones who seemed to be unperturbed were Ion and Jade.

Finally, King Ingobert shook his head ruefully. Luke sensed traces of anger in his uncle as well, but the king hid them well enough. He suddenly caught on to the corner he had unknowingly put his uncle in. "Very well. Natalia will go. Now, unless individuals have questions about the journey, this meeting is over. Luke, leave for the dungeons, as you have a job to do there."

Slightly ashamed, Luke nodded and turned to go to Van.


	10. Persiflage

**_Promethes Mneme, by apakoha_**

**Author's Note:** So, this chapter fills out at over an amazing 11, 000 words. My longest chapter to date. My hugest thanks to Spartan for not only editing this chapter for your enjoyment, but also writing some of it. This chapter is one of those long awaited things, where people have been anxiously calling for a real divergence to come. Well, here it is. I had answers to possible questions already in my mind, but I've lost them. So if you have any questions, just put it in a review and I'll personally answer you.

This is my belated Christmas gift to you. Enjoy.

* * *

Luke's walk to the dungeons became a slow jog. He felt moderately guilty about forcing his uncle's hand, but they had no choice if they were going by ship and wanted Natalia with them. If nothing else, Natalia's ability to heal would be incredibly useful once they got to Akzeriuth. 

He ignored the attention he got from the guards and stepped quickly down the stairs while wishing that he didn't have to let Van go. Even though his uncle had asked Luke to go convince Van to help with this, the king could let him go on his own anyway even if Van had refused. The only reason Ingobert had let Luke get away with negotiating for Natalia was because the implication was it would turn Luke away. He thought that Luke wouldn't go at all if Natalia couldn't go, and that wouldn't be following the Score. Luke couldn't blame them for letting him get his way.

If only the end result was Van's execution. Luke brushed that away as wishful thinking, and went up to where Van was just being let out by a guard who had apparently heard the news that Van was going.

"Master Van!" said Luke, running up to see him, and watched the guard leave them to their privacy.

"Luke!" greeted Van, "It's good to see you made it back to Baticul safely. I've heard about the plan to go to Akzeriuth."

"Oh, good," said Luke, "Maybe we could - "

"Luke, please don't interrupt," said Van calmly, and Luke shut his mouth to listen. "Now, ever since I saw you on the Katsberg Ferry with your hyperresonance, it's been on my mind."

"It hasn't been a problem since then," said Luke, discreetly studying him to see what the reaction would be.

"Ah, then you're learning some control," said Van, "I knew I was right to trust you with it." Luke fought the blush that would have come if this was still a time that Van wasn't an enemy. "Now that I've heard of Akzeriuth and the miasma that plagues it, I've come up with a plan. We are going to use your hyperresonance to destroy the miasma in Akzeriuth and you'll be a hero."

"A hero?" said Luke. The old feelings that word brought up were cold and dead.

But Van took no notice of Luke's lack of enthusiasm, only his words. "Yes. I assume you heard the Score reading."

"About why I'm going?" said Luke, "I'm Lorelei's scion and all that? Yeah, I heard."

"Was it a complete reading?" asked Van.

Luke shook his head. "No, it ended before it said what I'm supposed to do at the mining city."

"I'm going to let you in on a secret," said Van, "I know the rest of that passage."

_So do I,_ thought Luke, trembling in a mix of resentment and anxiety, but he listened to Van attentively. Everything after this relied on Van's willingness to believe Luke. "The Score says that you will become the pet dog of Kimlasca once you unleash your power in Akzeriuth. You will go there and move the people out of the city. As a result, war will break out. So you see, in order to save Akzeriuth, you must destroy the miasma without moving anybody out."

"That makes sense," said Luke, hating Van more by the second.

"After we do that," continued Van, "You will be hailed as an international hero. But Kimlasca will again force you into the castle as their pet; their weapon."

"I see," said Luke. He waited for the rest of the plan.

Van stared at Luke softly before continuing. "But we can avoid that, Luke!"

"Really?" said Luke, "How?"

"...Can I tell you a story, Luke?" asked Van. Luke nodded mutely. "When you were little, before you lost your memory, you begged me to take you to Daath. You wanted to be an Oracle Knight, or better yet, a God-General. Kimlasca was doing horrible experiments on you for your hyperresonance powers, Luke."

"Okay," said Luke, "What has that got to do with your plan?"

"The end of it," said Van, starting to show signs of mistrust, "After you save Akzeriuth, you can run away with me to Daath. You'll be safe from Kimlasca and these political messes."

"...Alright," said Luke, "C'mon. We have to go make plans with the others." He started to walk out, but Van stopped him with an outstretched hand.

"But they're with Kimlasca, Luke," said Van, "We can't tell them our plan; they would never allow it."

"Oh. Right," said Luke. He stopped and faced Van again. "But there still needs to be some plan-making with them, otherwise they'll get suspicious."

"Good thinking," Van said approvingly, "I can't tell you how proud I am of you. You're so wasted here in Baticul."

"Really?" said Luke, straining his voice to be excited and proud.

"Yes," said Van, "In fact, that's why I kidnapped you, seven years ago."

Luke stared at him blankly, without a word. He didn't think there was anything he could say that would give away how unexciting this 'news' was. Silence was probably best; it would hopefully come off as incredulous.

"I need you, Luke," said Van quietly.

Luke nodded his head and forced a smile. "...We should get going."

"Of course."

* * *

Guy leaned against the wall, stunned at what he had just heard. Van being the kidnapper was no surprise, as Guy himself was in on it. But the way Luke was acting... He couldn't decide what was going on with his charge or where his loyalties lay. Guy had automatically assumed that Luke was antsy to get to see Van again, but here he was with Van and playing the fool. It was yet another of his odd behaviors that Guy was slowly getting used to. And what was this about hyperresonance? 

Ah, but that thought was for another time. Guy ran out quietly as he heard the two footsteps approach. He quietly joined the others in the main hall who were waiting for Van and Luke. He didn't say anything right away so his temporary absence from the group would be less noticeable. Within a minute, Van and Luke appeared from the stairway to the jail. In comparison to Luke's usual exhausted mania, Van was looking poised and gracefully alert.

"Well, where are we heading?" asked Anise, "For plan making and stuff."

"I had thought Natalia might provide us a room somewhere," said Jade, and Natalia agreed to find a decently sized conference room for them. She led them through the hallways on their left and up the stairs. She stopped short of the door at the end and into one of the rooms at the side. Through it was a comfortable room with a central table which everyone took a seat at.

Natalia pulled out a map from the side and laid it down in the middle of the table. Next to Guy, Luke tensed up slightly; Guy looked over to see Luke glaring at the map. Puzzled, Guy watched the expression fade when Natalia spoke.

"I'm glad to see you, Van," said Natalia, "So, are there any suggestions as to how to proceed?"

"I actually had an idea," said Jade, and he looked sidelong at Van before shaking his head and continuing, "First of all, it's good for everyone to know that Oracle ships are watching the Central Ocean, likely the Grand Maestro faction trying to interfere."

"Colonel Jade," said Tear reproachfully.

Jade shrugged. "It's the truth. While we don't know who it is for sure, it seems too dangerous to attempt going by ocean. So we'll send out a decoy ship and head for Chesedonia on foot. There, we can board a ship to Kaitzur in Malkuth waters."

"Why don't I board the decoy ship?" said Van. Guy nodded slowly in agreement. That made sense; Van could handle himself and it would only make it seem more likely that the aid team was going by ship -

"How about we switch?" said Luke, out of the blue, "If it's the Grand Maestro faction, we can have Tear say she got a lead on the Seventh Fonstone. If it's the Fon Master faction, well, we'd have Ion. And either way, the Oracle Knights' attention will be drawn from Master Van while he sneaks through the desert."

The Seventh Fonstone? While Guy and the others stared at Luke in surprise, Van debated his point. "In the more likely case that it's of the Grand Maestro faction, I can defend myself better if it comes down to battle. If it doesn't, I'm in an ambiguous position, so they can't properly accuse me of anything."

"But we can get there faster," said Luke, his response so fast he almost tripped over his words. Guy sat back and watched Luke's arms shake as the redhead leaned over the table. "We have two healers and the Fon Master with us, so in the end, we could help the most if we get there first, right?"

"I'm not entirely sure it would be wise for us to go by ocean, Luke," said Jade, "Assuming we don't want to be killed, of course. You might have a long-hidden death wish, who knows?"

Guy looked down and smiled, while Luke blinked without making a response. It was kind of funny the way Luke couldn't understand sarcasm in the state he was in.

"Well, who says we have to get killed?" said Luke, "There's a chance they could be on our side, and if we have to fight, there's still seven of us to Master Van's one, right? We're not exactly going to be slaughtered."

"That's true," said Natalia, "I know I may seem dead weight, but I know I can contribute."

"I'm sure she'll pick it up really fast," said Luke, "Please, Master Van. It makes sense, doesn't it?"

Van was stroking his beard, deep in thought. "I'm still not sure it's entirely wise. If it is the Grand Maestro faction, I'm not sure if Tear's personal mission will be enough cover that they don't have a look around your ship and find Ion. How will you explain that?"

Guy spoke up, thinking it through as he went. "Well, if we're assuming that Tear is known to be a trusted underling of Grand Maestro Mohs, then can't she say that she's captured the Fon Master and is taking him to Akzeriuth by Mohs' orders?"

"What if they already have orders about Ion, though?" asked Anise, "That'd just clue them in that we're not with Mohs."

"That would depend on how much prestige Tear has," said Jade, looking at the female Grants, "If she has higher rank than those on the ships, then all she has to do is say that the orders have changed."

"I have an idea," said Ion, piping up for the first time, "Why don't we just ask Mohs to order the ships to stand down? He wants this mission to go forward, doesn't he?"

"I don't think the God-Generals would step down, though," said Van, "It would only draw them after any ships that leave from Baticul."

"Well, isn't that why you would go by land, Van?" said Natalia, "It's been announced that you're part of the aid team, right? Especially with your rank, it would make the God-Generals believe that the ship really is a decoy."

"So, if Tear asks Grand Maestro Mohs to have the ships in the Central Ocean withdraw," said Jade, "but have Van go by land, it would cause enough confusion that both of us have a head start. It's a decent plan if we have the Grand Maestro on our side."

"All of this Order politics is driving me insane," said Luke, driving the palm of his hand into his eyes.

"It is quite unfortunate," Ion agreed.

"So, Van," said Guy, "Are you okay with this plan?"

Van was silent for a few seconds. "I suppose so," he said after some thought, "I had been hoping to go by ship, but... This works just as well." Even though he had agreed, Guy thought Van looked grudging about it.

"Excellent," said Natalia, clapping her hands together, "The first thing to do is to talk to Grand Maestro Mohs about those Oracle ships. Will you come with me, Tear?"

"Er, yes," said Tear and she stood up to follow the princess.

"I'll come, too," said Guy, standing up. He stretched slightly, and walked out. "Hey, Ion, are you going to come, too?"

"No, thank you," said Ion, gesturing Guy out of the door, "I'm going to speak with Luke and Commandant Grants for a few minutes."

"Alright."

Guy followed the two women at a safe distance while they went back to the throne room.

"I'm glad we have a plan now," said Tear, "It really puts my mind at ease."

"I'm actually surprised at how Luke's been taking this," said Natalia, "Don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" said Tear. She looked confused and Guy had to remind himself that she didn't know Luke as well as he and Natalia did.

"Well, I don't know if Luke or anyone has told you what he was like a few months ago," said Natalia, "but he was quite different. It came out of nowhere, really."

"The change?" asked Tear.

Guy nodded. "Yeah… One day, he was his usual, relaxed... slightly selfish being - "

"He was very self-centered," said Natalia, "Don't you try to convince yourself any differently."

"Okay, he was selfish," said Guy reluctantly. Even though it was true, he still felt guilty saying it. "But then one morning, he just woke up changed."

"Changed?" asked Tear, keeping pace with Natalia.

"Yeah," said Guy, "He was so different. His selfishness had disappeared completely. He all of a sudden wanted to study and read - he even learned a good amount of Ancient Ispanian. But there was something else a bit different besides these outside things. There was a different drive behind his actions."

"Where he would once just wander aimlessly and do nothing all day, Luke would seem charged," said Natalia.

"When I compare the two," said Guy, "the new Luke has a more intense undercurrent beneath him. If the old Luke's spirit was a cloud, the spirit of the Luke we know now is the edge of a blade."

Natalia huffed lightly. "Well, isn't that a sad way to look at it? I actually think he subconsciously regained some of his memories that night. The Luke that existed before he was kidnapped, that's who he reminds me of."

Tear was looking between the two, and Guy tried to smooth the two perspectives for her sake.

"Personally, I think the Luke we know now is much darker than he ever was, but if he did regain memories, it would explain a lot. In any case, it's probably best to look at the brighter side."

"It could be a combination of Luke assimilating his memories into his personality," Tear offered, and Guy nodded.

"There you go: a perfectly reasonable assumption." But as the two women went on, Guy hung back and considered the fact that they had never seen anything like this Luke before.

* * *

Vandesdelca Musto Fende sat in his room, gathering paper and pen. His brow furrowed as he ever so calmly scribbled the note, and sent it off by carrier pigeon. After it was sent, Van sat looking at the still bright sky and thought deeply for a long, long time. When he was finished with that, he got up and left the room with an impassive look on his face. 

_Sync,_

_Ignore any other orders you may have at this time. Instead, head immediately for the Zao Ruins and open the Daathic seal of the Sephiroth there. I don't care if you haven't completely recovered from Shurrey Hill just yet, as I know you will live either way. The Sephiroth must be open within a week of you receiving this. Don't fail me._

_Commandant Grants, Vandesdelca_

* * *

"Hey, Guy!" Guy turned around to see Luke running up to him. The eyes of the young Fabre were lit oddly, and Guy wondered what was happening this time. 

"What is it, Luke?" he asked.

Luke seemed to be gathering his thoughts, so Guy waited patiently for him to speak.

"Well, Guy, you know how Ion's staying in the manor tonight?"

Guy nodded and Luke continued. "I'm kind of worried about something happening to him, especially on the night before the mission starts. So, I'm staying in the same room as him, and I wanted to know if you'll stay in there with us."

That was a bit out of the regular, but Guy nodded. "Yeah, I guess." As Luke grinned and ran off, presumably to chat with Ion or something, Guy went to his room to pack. Last time, he hadn't been able to pack properly, seeing as how he didn't know where he would find Luke.

Pere wasn't there, which was a shame because Guy wouldn't have minded chatting, so the room was quiet as Guy removed his old clothes from his pack and put new ones in. Guy's thoughts wandered from the mindless task of packing back to what he had heard Van and Luke talking about. Normally, Guy would have felt guilty about spying on his best friend, but it had mostly disappeared when he realized that they were making plans that wouldn't mix too well with what had already been decided on.

Van was talking about this hyperresonance thing to save Akzeriuth and Luke was going along with it, but Guy would stab himself in the foot if Luke wasn't using the same tone when he would do anything to get Natalia to leave him alone. Which was odd in and of itself because the last time Luke's voice had been like that, he was still his old whiny self. If only Guy knew for certain what hyperresonance was, he knew that he'd be able to see the whole situation a bit more clearly. For now, he'd have to hold his tongue about the whole thing.

Guy finished packing and put it over his shoulder while he figured out where Luke and Ion were staying. They would probably be in one of the fancier guest rooms, with two or more beds. But which one? He wandered around the manor, looking for a sign of Luke or Ion, and asked any White Knights he came across.

After fifteen minutes of poking around the guest rooms, Guy finally walked into the right one and found Luke and Ion lounging and laughing on their individual beds. Guy found the free one by the door, and dropped his bag at the end of it.

"Don't you think this room is kind of dark?" he asked them, "There are no windows."

Luke shrugged. "A small sacrifice for safety. I'm sure we're both willing to put up with it, right Ion?"

"Right." Ion beamed and didn't seem to care about it at all.

"Well, alright, then," said Guy, and he eased himself down onto his bed. "I guess you two are packed already?"

While Ion nodded, Luke blanched and seemed to hover between his bed and the door. Guy laughed at his friend's antics.

"Luke, get on with it. Nothing is going to happen if you step out for a few minutes to get packed," said Guy.

Luke nervously left the room with a backward glance and closed the door firmly behind him while looking around for people in the hall. When Luke was gone, Guy exchanged exasperated looks with Ion.

"Do you know what that's all about?" he asked, not really expecting a clear answer.

Ion shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed and pleased at the same time. "I think he's nervous about something happening to me."

"Paranoid is more like it," muttered Guy.

"I actually think that's part of why he invited me to stay in his home," continued Ion, "I can understand why, as the both of us are some of the highest standing people in the world about to embark on a journey in the name of peace. It won't be appreciated by everyone."

Guy agreed with a low grumble. Why did Luke feel the need to take the whole thing on his shoulders? He was taking this whole mission extremely personally.

For the next few minutes, Guy and Ion talked about the mission to Akzeriuth, Luke out of their minds. While they were prepared for the difficulty of the journey, there was an air of confidence and lightness of spirit. Guy himself was happy to be going on the trip. While Luke needed taking care of, Guy felt necessary for the mission in itself. There was no way they could fail, and maybe they could all finally relax when it was done.

Luke ran into the room and dumped his bag at the foot of his bed. Guy raised his eyebrows at the way clothes and other items had been hastily shoved into it.

"Very carefully done, Luke," he said, deadpan.

Luke glanced down at it and shrugged. "I was in a hurry."

Well, Guy wasn't going to be the one to state the obvious.

When Luke made sure everyone's things were in the room, he went to lock it. Guy's brow furrowed slightly and Ion smiled in a knowing way. The two exchanged looks, as if to say, 'Just let him live in his own world'. But Luke could really grate sometimes. This was one of the times that Guy had to fight the urge to shake Luke by the shoulders and shout at him to calm down. Seemingly satisfied with things, Luke took a running leap onto the bed he claimed and turned to face his two friends.

The three of them chatted about women and what Akzeriuth would be like until it was time to go to sleep.

* * *

The next morning was a blur until they left the castle. There were no interruptions during the night, and Guy had only jumped awake when Ion (accompanied by Luke) left to go to the great hall of the castle. Figuring he didn't have time anyway, Guy rose quickly and met them there as fast as he could. 

When he got there, Jade was doing a head count. There was Jade himself, Guy, Luke, Ion, and Van. There they waited only moments before Tear and Anise joined them together, both from the Fabre Manor.

"Are we all here? Good," said Jade, "Now Princess Natalia and Tear have a letter signed and sealed by Grand Maestro Mohs in case we have trouble with the ships in the Central Ocean. Can you check it, Tear?"

Tear did so, and held it up as proof before tucking it away.

"The seven of us will head directly to the port, where we will board a ship," said Jade, "Van will leave by land not through the gate, but through an abandoned factory Princess Natalia told me about. It's a shortcut to the desert and Chesedonia."

"I have reason to believe that some of the God-Generals are hanging about the city walls," said Van, "I will try to detain them if I can, but my priority will be to travel as far as I can, as fast as I can."

"Very good," said Jade, nodding. "You had best get going; you'll need a head start."

Van nodded to Jade, and exchanged brief good-byes with Luke and Tear. The last they saw of him was his head disappearing on an elevator down to the first level of Baticul.

"Alright, now we go," said Guy, "Everyone ready?" The others all hefted their baggage and gave affirmations.

"I'm glad to finally be on our way," said Luke, sighing mightily, "I was starting to feel smothered."

"Oh, we noticed," said Anise dryly.

"Really?" Luke seemed surprised, and Guy could have hit himself for the boy's obliviousness.

"If you had been any more obvious, _you_ might have actually noticed," said Jade, and the girls giggled. "Really, Luke, your mania during our stay was beginning to border on unbearable."

"O-oh." Luke looked down, thoughtfully shy, and clearly trying to remember interacting with the group during the stay. There wasn't much to reflect on. "I guess I have been sorta occupied."

"What were you so busy with?" asked Natalia, walking closer to her cousin.

Luke shrugged uncomfortably. "Just a couple things that'll make the trip go by easier. Mostly... preparation."

It sounded like Luke was being honest, so Guy spoke up in his defense. "Hey, guys, Luke's already uncomfortable about it. It's probably all the little things that are too small to mention."

"Something like," said Luke, and he looked relieved at Guy's help.

"But we missed you the whole time, Luke!" said Anise, "You were always somewhere else!"

"Sorry," said Luke and he adjusted his bag on his shoulder in such a way that implied his unwillingness to speak any more on the matter. "We'll make up for it on the ship."

It was a bit weird for Luke to say that, though. Guy frowned as he tried to remember the times when Luke had actually spent a good deal of time with the group. He was friendly, for certain, but he wasn't there as often as Tear or Ion or even himself. There was no way Luke could be that close with everyone at this point. Guy shook his head at Luke's presumptuousness and continued.

Continuing to tease Luke about his reclusive actions in Baticul and delighting in his bashfulness, they quickly made their way down to the port and onto the ship. Jade quickly made Tear check for the Grand Maestro's letter once more before they settled in and then everything was ready for them to leave. The ship cast off and they watched Baticul slowly disappear in the horizon.

Guy suggested that they drop off all of their baggage before thinking about the ships. It wouldn't do for anything to get lost now. The blond went downstairs and picked a room. Since they were such a small group, everyone could get their own room. He strongly suspected Anise and Ion would have connected rooms at the very least, what with Anise's paranoia in everything concerning her charge. Well, it was her job to be paranoid, wasn't it?

After Guy had dropped off his bag on his temporary bed, he went to check on Tear since she had hardly said a thing today. He knocked on the door and waited for her answer before coming in. He shut the door behind him and sat on the bed, facing her.

"Hello, Guy."

Guy smiled. "Is anything wrong, Tear?"

The girl soldier slowly shook her head. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Well, you just seem quiet today. Quieter than usual, I mean," said Guy, leaning back on his hands. Tear gave a small sigh and pulled up a chair, making sure she wasn't too close.

"It's - nothing," she said. "I appreciate your concern but - "

"Tear," said Guy, "Hush up and tell me the truth. I'm starting to wonder whether you trust us or not. What's bothering you?"

Tear breathed in deeply as she started talking. "I - I don't know. It's everything. The mixture of this mission, my brother and the way Luke's been acting. I can't figure anything out."

"I can understand the trip's been wearing on you, and the trouble that Van is to you, but what's bothering you so much about Luke?" said Guy, "Is it really so big?"

"Yes," said Tear, insistent, "It's - he's..." She trailed off as she realized what she was saying and tried to let it go. Guy snorted and waved a hand in her peripheral sight.

"Hey, Tear, you're not going to be the perfect soldier this time," he said, "What's up with Luke and you?"

Tear blushed a little, but she looked miserable as she buried her head in her arms on the back of her chair. "Nothing. Just... Nothing is happening."

Guy scratched the back of his head. Okay. If she needed to tell herself that to talk about this, then he'd let it go. "Okay, Tear, nothing is happening. But as friends, why is his behavior a problem?"

"He's not a very good companion."

This was progress. "Alright, why not?" Guy asked curiously.

"He invites me to stay in his home, and then the next night, he completely ignores me as his guest." It was almost frightening to hear how little emotion Tear was letting slip out.

Guy tried to put this in a better light. "Well, in the end, everyone except Jade was staying at his house. He was probably trying to keep track of everything. Since he took the entire Akzeriuth thing on his back, he's been killing himself to make sure things went smoothly. If you add the fact that this might be one of the only times Luke is able to host his friends in his home, you end up with a much stressed Luke."

"You think that this is all stress?" Tear asked, peering at Guy closely.

"Yeah," said Guy, "Just a lot of bad timing of events. I have no doubt that if we weren't going to Akzeriuth, Luke would have been with us all the time. He's usually very social."

"Ah."

There was a lull in conversation and both of them stared out the window, thinking.

"I suppose we can just wait and see what happens," said Tear.

"Exactly," said Guy, nodding, "Luke's in a transitional period in his life right now. He'll settle, you'll see."

"That sounds... good," said Tear, "We should leave before everybody wonders where we are." She moved towards him - for a handshake or something - and Guy jumped to the side so violently he fell off of the bed.

"S-sorry," he muttered, adrenaline and fear pounding through his chest.

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing," said Tear, "I forgot." She seemed embarrassed and there was a blush on her face again. "I'm sorry."

"I-it's fine," said Guy shakily, "Let's just go."

After an awkward moment getting through the door, they went up to the deck where the rest of the group was watching the dissipating fleet of ships.

"Hey, where were you two?" asked Anise, "You missed the bit where the Oracle ships started turning tail."

"Do we know why?" asked Tear.

"No," said Jade, "Either Grand Maestro Mohs got word to them sooner than we could get there or they are well-informed members of the Fon Master faction."

"Either way, it's good for us," said Luke confidently. The self-assurance in his voice only highlighted the exhaustion plaguing his body. The group politely ignored his shaking hands and agreed with the statement. Hopefully he would begin to lighten up now.

"Full steam ahead," said Guy, almost to himself, "How are you holding up, Princess Natalia?"

"I'm fine, Guy," said the princess, "I'm just taking it all in."

"Do we have to call you Princess?" said Luke, a ghost of his old whine in his voice. "No one calls me Master Luke."

"Well, she is a princess," said Tear.

"And we know we can get away with it," scoffed Anise, "She's going to rule Kimlasca one day."

"So is Luke," said Princess Natalia, "Our marriage was arranged almost from birth. So I suppose I wouldn't mind if everyone called me... just Natalia. I think I would like that much better." She clasped her hands together and Guy had to admit that she had a point.

"If you think it would be more comfortable, Princess..," said Guy. It would be very weird to call her by her given name; the intimacy of it would be well past uncomfortable.

"Natalia," she reminded him, and Guy shrugged.

"I think that's a great idea," said Luke, "We have almost the same rank, so what's the bother, right?"

It was quietly agreed on, and Guy wondered how often Natalia would slip up. Everyone else seemed happy with it, so Guy didn't see any room to comment. Not that he wanted to.

As the remainder of the Oracle fleet turned and sailed in various other directions, their own ship powered ahead towards the Kaitzur Naval Port.

* * *

There was a clear sky that evening. The sun's golden light lit the ocean on fire and Guy gazed into the pleasant colors on the top deck. Various thoughts flitted through his head and Guy discarded them as he came across them, not wanting to spoil the richness of the sunset. Almost everyone else was also up on deck, but no one seemed up for conversation. Guy doubted that they were feeling the same as him, although he wouldn't have been surprised if they were. 

The footsteps quietly clicking on the metal steps marked Luke's arrival and the last person to come on deck. Guy turned around to see Luke squinting straight into the sun before blinking rapidly. Upon seeing Guy, the closest person to the stairs, Luke smiled faintly and approached. Guy smiled back and turned around with Luke to face the sunset.

"So?" said Guy, "What's up?"

Luke raised a hand to his temple gently. "I have a headache."

"Ah," said Guy in sympathy, "A bad one?"

Luke thought about how to answer that one before chuckling as he thought of an answer. "The closest way I can say is that it feels like a very irritated man is pounding at my head with everything at his disposal."

As interesting as that analogy was, Guy frowned slightly at Luke's specificity. "A man? Not a beast or ape or anything?"

"No, definitely a man," Luke replied airily.

"And here I thought your headaches were gone," said Guy.

Luke sighed. "Me, too… But I guess they're here to stay."

"Or hopefully until you get your memory back," said Guy. As he thought that, he immediately wished that Luke never regained his memories. He didn't want Luke to remember what he had been like. How he had treated that young child. He didn't want Luke to remember hating Guy as much as Guy had hated him.

"Yeah..," said Luke noncommittally, "Anyways, I just came up to see how everyone was. I need to go sleep."

"You're running yourself ragged," said Guy, giving him some brotherly advice, "You do realize that you're doing this to yourself, right?"

"I guess," said Luke with a slight grimace, "I just wish I was feeling well enough to talk with everyone."

"They'll understand," said Guy, pushing him back towards the stairs, "Get some sleep."

"Okay."

When Luke had disappeared into the belly of the ship, Guy sighed. Why was Luke such a bundle of nerves? He was going to drive himself insane one of these days, and Guy didn't know what to do about it. He didn't listen to anybody who told him to get some rest or to take it easy; and Luke's jump in martial abilities made it obvious that it would be hard to force him to do anything. When it came to Luke, Guy was lost.

And it had all started that spring day, so many months ago. Guy could remember the day clearly. He didn't have a chance to interact with Luke until that evening, but he remembered watching Luke and Pri - Natalia talk in the courtyard. It had been surprising, watching them get along so well without even a hint of an argument. It was made doubly surprising by the fact that Luke had been in a furious mood the night before (something about Van missing a week of training) and if Guy knew Luke, he knew these spats always lasted a few days before Luke grudgingly let go of the issue.

Guy was further shocked when he actually talked with Luke. He was quieter, polite, generously spontaneous, and most of all, completely out of nowhere. There was familiar teasing, but that was as harsh and selfish as this new Luke got. As the months went on, Guy got to know this new Luke more and held off making opinions about him. He couldn't help being suspicious. As much as Guy would have liked to accept the newer, more pleasant Luke without question, something about him set Guy's alarms off.

The old Luke was a selfish person, but Guy would be the first one to defend Luke's core value. His goodness appeared from time to time, and Guy knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was there. Then it disappeared when Luke's sudden change occurred. That was startling enough to make Guy pause for a while, to put the relationship on hold. But after a lot of watching and studying, Guy realized that Luke's innate goodness hadn't disappeared - it had been tempered and weathered and evolved. If anything, Guy would've guessed that his sense of doing the right thing and 'being good', as it were, had actually grown.

At that point, Guy might have accepted Natalia's theory that Luke was regaining memories if not for the fact that Luke showed no hostility towards him, none at all. Unlike Natalia, Guy saw the dark side to the child Luke. They hadn't liked each other; so Guy knew that the changed Luke was a different creature and not a return of the old. Enough of the same traits to make him still Luke, but was distinctively unlike the person Guy had known.

To be sure, Guy was confident that it was still Luke. He had the same memories and the same emotional attachment to events past. The same familiarity, if not more so, with everything. Although there was something indefinable about Luke, Guy had no choice but to accept him as his best friend once again. He didn't say a thing to Luke about his need to restart the friendship, because as far as Guy knew, Luke was oblivious to the whole thing. Which was very much like Luke anyway, reinforcing Guy's decision to continue to be Luke's best friend.

Then Tear had come and gone, taking Luke with her. It had been hard. The Fabre household had descended into chaos. The duke was furious and only King Ingobert and Lady Susanne could talk to him. Lady Susanne had become inconsolable with grief. The maids, servants and White Knights scrambled through the house, always walking on eggshells. Guy was glad he left when he did; otherwise he might have gone insane from worry.

Guy had met up with Luke by the Tartarus and was a bit surprised at Luke's set role in the group. He was respected, comfortable and fit in well with them. At first, Guy was jealous. It faded as Guy became part of the group, but he had felt offended that people other than Natalia and himself could command such loyalty and friendship from Luke.

So then Guy became part of the group and realized he was becoming more tightly knit than Luke. It wasn't right. Luke had been here longer, hadn't he? Had more time to interact with these people? Was it fair?

The group had come to Baticul and then Luke's mind had gone over the edge. Well, that was an exaggeration, Guy said to himself, but anyone introduced to Luke from that point on would think something was a little off in Luke's mind. Wasn't there an actual medical term for being consumed with something to that degree? Guy felt that he and Natalia, as the ones who knew Luke the longest, were the only ones who could figure out what was going on in Luke's mind. He wished he could explain Luke's psyche to the group, but he didn't think he could do it properly. In the end, it was up to Luke, anyway.

He was going to have to have a talk with Luke about the mixed signals he was sending to Tear, poor girl. She didn't deserve Luke's whimsy. Guy would always be on Luke's side, but sometimes that boy needed to be set on track.

With that confused relationship on his mind, Guy left the deck. The sun had set, the stars were coming out and it was time to sleep.

* * *

Besides the actual travel, nothing of any consequence happened until they landed at the Kaitzur Naval Port and made it to Kaitzur. From there, they would travel to the Deo Pass, and then they would arrive at Akzeriuth. They were almost done with their journey, and Guy was beginning to see the sense in Luke's jittery feelings. 

"I think I'm starting to understand how you feel," he explained to Luke while entering the Deo Pass, "It's just hit me how important this mission is."

"Two bitter rivals will finally make peace," said Natalia, "but only if we succeed."

"Oh, no pressure then," said Anise, sounding a bit nervous herself. Ion chuckled, sounding slightly out of breath, and Tear slowed to walk beside him.

"Ion?" she said, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," said Ion, "I'm... going to need a rest at some point, but we can continue."

"Just don't push yourself," said Natalia, worried, and Ion waved her off.

They pushed a hard pace through the mountains, and unsurprisingly, Ion quickly asked for a rest. What made them blink was Luke's reaction. He seemed almost ready to start screaming. While Anise made sure Ion was comfortable, everyone else watched Luke pace in agitation and eventually storm off, almost ripping the lapel of his jacket to shreds on the low branch of a dead tree. Guy looked around to see who would go talk to him, and to everyone's surprise, Jade went to check on Luke. The soldier gently took Luke's elbow in his hand and tugged him to a more secluded area where they could talk privately. When they had moved out of the group's view, Guy could barely see them at an ungraceful angle.

Guy watched them as discreetly as he could. He could barely hear what was happening; the loudest volume it got to was a murmur. Jade had taken Luke's shoulders and was talking to him. Luke answered and was... shaking... Guy felt perturbed. Just what was making Luke so upset? It couldn't be just nerves, not with everything he'd seen the noble go through recently. Jade was trying to calm him, but Luke was getting more distressed. As Jade continued speaking to Luke, Luke actually pulled back a hand and tried to punch Jade. Guy checked himself to make sure his reaction wasn't giving anything away to the others.

Jade caught the fist, and roughly twisted the arm until Luke was leaning back in a pained attempt to free his arm. Guy closed his eyes briefly. _Luke, what are you _thinking,_ trying to hit Jade?_ The soldier's posture had changed into authoritarian and seemed to be giving Luke some harsh words. Luke was shaking his head and trying to get his arm free. Jade was evidently hurting him. Guy forced himself to sit still and let Jade be the leader on this trip and it was hard.

Soon, Jade relaxed his grip and Luke wrenched his arm towards his chest, holding it close. But Luke didn't move away, and... Guy almost gasped in maternal concern. With his other hand, Luke was lifting his hand to his face. Guy didn't see any tears, but the motion was so universal that he knew Luke was wiping some away. Never mind letting Jade be the leader, forcing himself to sit still now was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

The two talked some more and Luke shook out his hurt arm. Jade ruffled Luke's hair and then they returned. Guy quickly twisted a few degrees to make it seem like he was focused on Ion the entire time, and he was proud of his control when he asked Luke if something was wrong.

"No," said Luke, and then Guy was proud of Luke's control. If there hadn't been tear stains on his face, he wouldn't have been able to tell Luke had shed tears, no matter how few.

"I'm ready to go on," said Ion, saving the conversation from becoming awkward. So they continued.

The talk among them slowly became more anxious and Guy realized that Luke's tension hadn't been undone at all by the talk with Jade. This was starting to go beyond worrisome and Guy was getting sick of it. He couldn't invest any more worry for Luke. He'd have to cope on his own, because nothing seemed to help Luke. It would probably help him to get over it on his own, anyway. Guy just hoped he wouldn't regret withholding his emotional support.

At the end of Deo Pass, Luke suddenly peered around the top of the cliffs.

"What's wrong, Luke?" asked Natalia.

"...Nothing," said Luke, "Just jumping at shadows."

The group relaxed a little to hear Luke admit he was tense, even though it was implicit. So they hurried on. Now that they were in the final stretch, the need to get Akzeriuth seemed to multiply. It was a few hours' walk. Guy made it an exercise in releasing stress, as he couldn't find a good reason to be so nervous about the mining city, no matter how crazed Luke was.

So when they entered the city, no time to stare down at the city in awe, Guy didn't feel nervous. Just ready to get on with the mission.

"How horrible," murmured Natalia as they walked through the gates of the city.

They walked down the main street and saw the terrifying extent of the miasma's power. Men were laid low everywhere, even in the middle of the road. The miasma was thick here, like a purple-red fog. It was covering everything and Guy knew why both countries didn't want to send huge relief teams.

Surprisingly, it was Luke who began the preparations for relief. When Natalia dropped to her knees at the side of a man wheezing like it was his last breath, Luke stopped her. Before anyone could indignantly protest, Luke quickly explained that they'd only get the most done if their relief was organized. Then he began to explain that they should find the most able people in the city and send out caravans to Kaitzur.

"So your aim is evacuation?" said Jade.

Luke nodded. "I think that's best. When Van comes later, he has a plan to destroy the miasma. But to play it safe, we should get everyone to Kaitzur right away."

"Have you been thinking about this plan since Baticul?" said Tear incredulously.

Luke nodded. "Yeah… Now hurry, we have to find the able-bodied and form caravans to send out through Deo Pass. They'll never survive through the mountain ranges." He gestured at the mountain chain surrounding half of Akzeriuth above them.

Luke drove them. He refused to go down into the mines, but Jade, Tear, Anise and Ion went down to bring up the most injured. They politely ignored the ones who wanted to stay, instead healing them and organizing parties of miners to travel through the pass. Natalia's and Tear's healing abilities weren't as useful as they'd hoped, but they could at least get most of them on their feet. Luke bought out the store's entire supply of Orange Gels and Pineapple Gels to keep the healers' abilities up to par. It didn't stop their exhaustion but they could manipulate fonons as well as ever with them.

They were at a point when they didn't know how many teams of miners they had sent out when Luke all of a sudden stopped in his tracks and touched his forehead. Guy, exhausted from dragging/helping people up the slope of the city's roads, stopped to ask him what was wrong. Luke turned to face the entrance of the city.

"Look."

Guy stared until he saw what Luke did. "The Tartarus!" Despite his exhaustion, Guy started running to go tell Jade.

"Wait!" said Luke, "I don't think they want a fight."

"What makes you say that?!"

"Just a feeling… Hold on, Guy. Even if there will be a fight, you'll never get Jade and the others in time to help me and Tear. The Tartarus means at least one God-General."

"...Okay, Luke."

They painfully waited the long minutes until the Tartarus approached and eventually stopped at the edge of the city. The ramp lowered and people came out. Guy squinted to see better and saw it was Asch, accompanied by Oracle Knights.

"Hey, Luke, it's Asch! We need - "

"He's with us, Guy. I know it. He was on our side before at Choral Castle. He'll be with us again," said Luke, starting to walk to meet Asch and his knights. Guy couldn't even work up the energy to argue with Luke's certainty and came up with him.

They floundered through an introduction and Asch agreed to help with the evacuation. More than that, he agreed to take every citizen still in the city to Kaitzur straight through the mountains by means of the Tartarus.

"All of you!" shouted Asch, needing to be heard by every man in his regiment. "There are still thousands in the city. You are all going to help evacuate. Follow this man." He pointed to Guy. Guy sighed and turned around to head into the residential area. The other four could handle the mines with the help of the carts. It was the people still in their homes who needed the human help.

Before Guy went out of earshot, he heard Asch and Luke talking in low tones. There was something really weird going on...

* * *

Legretta was standing guard for him, not that he needed it. Sync stood between the two stone pillars in front of the Sephiroth and slowly worked the Daathic arte that would open it. If Van's seal on his body was complete, Sync would have been able to open the Daathic seal no problem. But it wasn't even half-finished, and the effort was killing him. 

As Sync destroyed the second level of the lock, he fell to his knees and gasped in pain. He let go of the arte he was using and forced himself to breathe. In... Out... In... Out... It was many, many long minutes before Sync felt the constrictions on his chest disappear. It wasn't physically happening, but it was as if his heart and lungs were in someone's hand; someone slowly tightening their grip until there were black spots hovering in front of his eyes. Legretta knelt down beside Sync in concern but Sync brushed her off. He was _fine_ and certainly didn't need someone else taking responsibility for his safety. Van said he was going to live no matter what.

Once Sync felt a little better, he stood up and began to work on the third level of the Daathic seal.

* * *

"Okay, replica," said Asch, his voice never rising above a harsh whisper, "You are going to tell me exactly what's going on." 

Luke shook his head slowly. It wasn't time to tell him yet, and -

"It isn't time to tell me what?" Asch said, almost snarling, "Didn't I tell you I will know if you lie?"

Luke hesitated, and that was enough for Asch, who grabbed him by the front of his jacket and pulled Luke closer. Luke's eyes widened, but he didn't try to escape. "You're on Van's side! I swear, replica, if you side with Van - especially now - you're my enemy, and I have no problem with killing you."

Luke took the words considerably hard for once. Just when he thought he had been gaining Asch's trust, however angry he made his original. "I'm not on Van's side! Truth be told, I hate Van just as much as you do," he said softly, and pulled Asch's hands off of him. "I have a plan of my own, and until I confront Van, it's best for nobody else to know." He flinched at Asch's automatic attack on his mind, which subsided after Asch found he couldn't drag much out of Luke.

"You can't possibly know how much I hate Van, replica," Asch said, voice shaking with some dangerous emotion.

Luke narrowed his eyes. "I can see into your mind as easily as you can see into mine. Maybe easier. What Van did to you was evil. What he did to me, what he's going to do to me, is evil. Believe me, I'm going to stop his plans in his tracks, but I can't do _anything_ until everyone is out of Akzeriuth." Why couldn't Asch just trust him for once!

"What are you working on?" said Asch, his voice suddenly drained of heat.

Luke smiled and turned to face Asch, feeling something slightly mischievous light in his brain. "My plan, I told you. The only thing you need to know is that you can trust me. Better me than Van, right? Now come on, we absolutely have to evacuate everyone before Van arrives."

Asch stood stock-still for a minute before grudgingly walking up beside Luke.

"Oh, and Asch? I think it's best to try and not let Natalia see you. She'll be confused, and that's something I don't need to deal with right now," said Luke. He loved Natalia like a sister, but everyone knew how she could get sometimes.

Asch watched Luke with narrowed eyes, and Luke picked up a thought from him: _Natalia?! Idiot! Just what the hell are you planning to do?! _

Then Asch spoke directly to him. "The best laid plans, dreck," he said, giving him an obvious warning, "Remember that."

Luke swallowed a pleased smile at Asch's caution, and nodded.

* * *

Two days passed before Van arrived. The only sleep anyone got was a few hours of shift-switching, and never more than one person on either team. The Tartarus was running nonstop, and Luke was thankful that it had such a high volume of fuel. The last groups of miasma victims were set away on the Tartarus two hours before Van walked through the front gates. 

The two redheads talked away from sight before the final trip to Kaitzur was made.

"I'm coming back as fast as possible," said Asch, watching his men help the most injured on board. His voice had lost all of its animation due to not having slept for the last eighteen hours. "Faster, if I can manage it."

"I'm going to need you, Asch. You've got the letter requesting Malkuth aid for the refugees in Kaitzur, right?" said Luke, and Asch held up the letter, "Good. Sleep the whole time, if you can."

They watched as the Oracle Knights loudly announced nobody was still left in the city.

"I'll try," said Asch. A little of his threatening anger returned when he turned to look at Luke. "The only reason I'm doing this is because the alternative is Van. I still don't know that I can trust you."

Luke sighed. "I guess... I do owe you an explanation for your help. I couldn't have done this without you."

"I don't even know if you know what you are," continued Asch, seemingly ignoring what Luke said, "How can I trust that?"

"I can figure things out for myself," snapped Luke, "Right now, I know for certain that I'm never going to get my memories back because I never had them. Is that good enough for you?"

"No," said Asch quietly.

Luke stared at his original and shook his head sadly. "Alright, get out of here. Everything you've done for me, it's been a blow against Van. I - you want an explanation, it'll have to wait."

"I'm getting it when I get back," said Asch, and there was no room to argue.

As soon as Asch had left, Luke went over to the inn and fell on one of the beds, already asleep.

* * *

Tear woke him up later, and Luke frowned groggily. "Tear? What is it?" 

"Van's here. He's asking for you, and he doesn't look very happy."

Luke stared at her a moment before it registered. "Van's_ here?!_ Already? How long has it been?"

"Two hours," she said, "Hurry. I don't think you should keep my brother waiting when he's in a mood like this."

_I sure know that much_, Luke grumbled to himself and he jumped out of bed to go see Van. At two hours, Asch would still be a while in transit. Was two hours leaving enough time for him to get back? Regardless, Luke ran out of the inn to see his old master.

"Master Van!" Luke yelled, forcing his excitement, "I'm glad you made it here safely." He noticed everyone, including Ion, blearily coming out of the inn and nearby houses. He trembled at the sight of the Fon Master.

But Van didn't return Luke's false joy. Instead, he looked around the city with an edge, and then intensely focused on Luke. Luke backed off nervously.

"Luke," said Van flatly, "What's happened here? Where is everyone?"

Luke sighed and looked away from Van. "I'm sorry, master. I tried to convince everyone otherwise, but then Asch came with the Tartarus saying that you sent him to help us. I guess... he lied." Luke caught Van's rage and struggled against quavering. He couldn't succeed if he was still scared of Van. "B-but we can still destroy the miasma, right? I can still be a... be a hero, right?" Luke forced himself to sound as whiny and selfish as he could. That was the only Luke Van trusted.

Van watched the approaching group closely. "We need to make this private, Luke. I need only the Fon Master's assistance, and then you and I can work."

"I'm sure I can get everyone else to give us space," said Luke. "Hold on." He went over to the group, who gathered around him. He spoke as quietly as he could; it would destroy his plans if Van overheard him here.

"Ion, he needs you." At the prompt, Ion ran over to greet Van. "Alright, guys..." Luke breathed deeply. "I know I've been driving you all insane the last little while, but this part is what I was nervous about. If this screws up, it could destroy the entire city."

Looks of understanding appeared and then faded as Luke kept talking.

"I think Master Van, Ion and me are going somewhere to try and destroy the miasma here. But if you've noticed, I don't know if Van is doing the right thing here. So once we've gone in, I need your support."

"We'll follow at a distance," said Guy, "Is that what you're asking?"

"Something like," said Luke, "Remember this. Whatever I say after this, no matter what I say or do, I want to save this city. And you all need to be here, or someone's going to die. I have a really strong feeling about this."

"How strong?" asked Guy.

"If it was stronger, I don't think I would be able to eat anything, and I'm having trouble with even swallowing right now," said Luke, "So just for now, agree to hang back, but I need you all. I'm depending on you."

"Luke," said Jade, "Exactly how are you and Van planning to destroy the miasma?"

Luke hesitated.

"Hyperresonance," said Guy. He shrugged when Luke whirled around to see him. "I overheard you two."

Jade stilled. "If you are going to be using that, then I understand where your gut feeling is coming from. Please tell me you aren't actually intending to - "

"No," said Luke, cutting him off, "At least, not the way Van wants me to. I have more control than he thinks."

"He's looking impatient," said Tear, watching Van.

"Alright, then," said Luke, "Come on, guys."

"Mystearica," Van greeted, "As much as I would enjoy staying to talk, we both have something to attend to."

"Both of us?" said Tear, frowning.

"Here is a missive from Grand Maestro Mohs," said Van, holding out the paper stamped and approved by the Grand Maestro, "There's a significant lead on the location of the Seventh Fonstone. Please follow it up."

"But - "

"It's okay, Tear," said Luke, "There's nothing deadly serious going on here, is there? Follow your mission." He watched the gears start to turn in Tear's head, and Jade followed it up.

"You've helped so much already, Tear," said Jade, "It's not going to be so terrible to leave when the work's already finished, is it?"

Slowly, carefully, Tear nodded. "Okay. I will go." She turned and began walking out of the city.

When she was beyond the city gates, Van nodded briskly. "Now we can get to business. Fon Master, Luke, if you two would kindly follow me to the source of the miasma." Without seeing any of the others, Luke followed Van down into the mines where he stopped at a oddly marked door he knew as a Daathic Seal.

"Strange," said Ion, "I wasn't aware of a Sephiroth in the area."

"If you would, Fon Master, disable the seal," said Van. The request sounded strangely like an order.

Ion nodded and did as he as asked. In three seconds, the seal disappeared with a hum, and Ion collapsed from exhaustion. Luke knelt next to him, and put an arm under his shoulders. "Are you alright, Ion?"

"I'll be fine," said Ion, panting.

Van began to walk through the door. "Come, Luke, we don't have much time." Luke had no idea why they didn't have all the time in the world seeing as Van didn't know Asch was on his way, but... He followed, supporting Ion the whole way. Ion was able to walk on his own a few steps into the passage ring facility. No one said a word as they proceeded downward through the spiraling structure until they arrived at another hall of the large platform. The ramp descended down and down until it arrived at a massive fonstone hovering in the center of a massive chasm, memory particles fluttering about like millions of glittering snowflakes.

"Come here, Luke," instructed Van, "Stand on this glyph and use your hyperresonance to neutralize the miasma."

"Can a hyperresonance be used like that?" asked Ion, eyes wide with surprise.

"I can do it," said Luke. His voice bordered on arrogant and he knew it was what Van wanted to hear. He approached the control glyph and stood on it, studying the passage ring. He saw with horror that the control pedestal was still sealed shut. He screamed a curse in his head, and tried to figure this out. _I need Tear or Van to unlock that, and Lorelei said that Tear can't get sick. But Van will never touch it! But maybe... Lorelei..._

"Now then, Luke," said Van, "Concentrate all of your power into the center, on that fonstone."

Luke raised his hands in front of his body and pulled out a hyperresonance. The white-hot power rushed to his hands, making them glow white and gold. "Like this?"

"Your control has grown," said Van, and then his voice grew cold. "Fulfill your purpose now, 'foolish replica Luke'!"

Something audibly snapped in Luke's mind, and he felt something try to control him, and force more power than he could hold into his hands. _You can't do that anymore, Van. Not _ever. _Lorelei!_ When he shouted Lorelei's name in his mind, the entire passage ring started glowing with golden and violet lights. Memory particles of opposite colors began to clash and Luke began to think he might have caught Lorelei at an inconvenient time.

Even so, Lorelei did what Luke needed and the control pedestal exploded, shards of lost Dawn Age metal flying into the passage ring and never towards Luke, Van or Ion. Luke leaped on the opportunity before Van could even say anything, and he began writing words in Ancient Ispanian, detailing the slow sinking of Akzeriuth.

Van watched in shocked fury and he grabbed for Luke. "What are you doing?! What have you done?!"

Luke ignored his master and the colored memory particles circling them and he finished. When he was done, Luke carefully rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and faced Van. He spoke the next words slowly and without fear. Van was never going to cause fear in him again. Never, never, never. "I am stopping you."

"You foolish replica," shouted Van, "Do you even know what my plan was?"

"Something like destroying the Outer Lands, creating a giant replication machine and replacing everybody on the face of Auldrant in some well-meaning scheme to rid the world of the Score," said Luke calmly. It wouldn't do to show outright arrogance, now, would it?

"How did you find out?!"

Luke couldn't help a smirk. "I don't need to tell you." Stupid man, always telling him what to do. Stupid people, depending on him for their lives. He was a hero, he made himself one. Luke didn't even notice that that number of golden memory particles swirling around him were slipping away, while the violet particles forced themselves into his orbit. The fight between the particles continued without anyone's noticing.

"Luke, foolish replica Luke," said Van, beginning to laugh, "Nothing will prevent the land falling into the Qliphoth Sea. If you know so much about me, then you know this."

Luke's smirk froze in place. "I'll stop it."

Van's eyes were dancing with mocking amusement. "This has been a charming diversion, but that is irrelevant. As the Score predicts, you will die here." He drew his blade, pointing it straight at Luke. Luke didn't even swallow as he tightened his grip on his own sword. "Do you honestly think you can win here? Your abilities with the sword have jumped in leaps since the spring, but you're still using the Albert style. My style."

"I think I can," said Luke, his mouth dry, "You don't know what I'm capable of."

Van smiled indulgently. "Don't I? Come and face me, foolish replica!"

Luke pulled out his sword and faced off against Van, both of them cloaked with swelling memory particles.


	11. The Darkness

**_Promethes Mneme, by apakoha_**

**Author's Note:** Hello again, everybody. This chapter is shorter than usual as you may have known already, but I think it ended at a good point. Besides, you guys got extra Christmas love last chapter, anyway. :) As always (for the last few chapters, anyway...), thanks to Spartan for editing and being my source of medical knowledge.

There's a lot of plot in this installment, even if it's shorter. Make sure you're paying attention, everybody!

If you enjoy, review. It's the natural order of things and you know it.

* * *

Luke and Van were silently frozen in place for a second. Nothing else mattered in Luke's vision anymore; not Ion, not the passage ring, not the weirdly colored memory particles. Then they closed in. 

Van was stronger than he should have been, Luke realized. As he blocked Van's sword with his own, the ringing vibration climbing up his arm, Luke knew that Van was intending to kill him. The fact that he himself was trying to kill Van before this could go any farther slipped from his mind, and Luke felt betrayed.

As he fought his old master, Luke began to think less and less. Soon, he couldn't afford to think - only react. He saw empty space and avoided it; he saw a spot to step forward and he took it. After a few minutes of evenly clashing, they stepped away from each other, sizing each other up.

Van's eyes were narrowed as he watched the boy he thought he knew so well. "You know more than I ever taught you."

"Maybe I'm just intuitive," said Luke, almost growling. He couldn't believe this man. Finally, Luke let go of his lingering affection for the man. It would still exist but now Luke knew that it could never make him hesitate.

"Or someone else had a hand in teaching you," said Van, "Asch, was it?"

This could be bad if Van thought Asch played such a big part, if only because Asch wasn't about ready to let go of Van.

"No," Luke answered quickly. They were slowly circling each other, never letting their swords lower. "If I learned anything from Asch, it was because I took it."

_Dreck!_ Asch shouted, and Luke jumped. He whirled almost in a circle to see Asch running into the hall of the Sephiroth. Van didn't attack as he watched everybody, Tear included, follow Asch.

"I suppose you had a hand in this as well," said Van, his voice calculated and soft. Luke didn't answer. He wouldn't give any more than he had away. At this point, Van should have no idea of what Luke really was.

Luke turned to face Van again; sword at the ready, but it seemed Van wasn't going to continue fighting. Luke didn't want to turn his back on him any longer and went closer to his friends who were running up.

"Stop!" shouted Van, and raised his hand to Luke. Luke ignored his ex-master and went to meet with Asch and the others. Strangely enough, Ion was with them. Had he been so involved in the fight that he didn't notice Ion slipping away?

"Luke!" called Natalia, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Luke said, loud enough for her to hear.

"Come back here, Luke," said Van, "Or I guarantee you will be watching them all die upon meeting you."

"You're bluffing," said Luke, and he kept walking up to them.

"Am I?" said Van, "If that's what you think, you don't actually know me."

Luke almost continued, but he stopped to think about it. This wasn't the time to underestimate Van, even it was most likely a bluff. Luke couldn't take the chance. Grimacing, Luke turned around and walked to meet Van, making sure to go as slow as was possible. It might be infuriating, but he wouldn't give Van the pleasure of running up.

As Asch, Tear, Ion and the others reached the bottom floor, Luke was standing in front of Van. Both of their swords were sheathed.

"What is it?" said Luke, grinding his teeth.

"Face the passage ring again," said Van. Luke turned on his heel.

"Yes?"

"I don't think you'll call a hyperresonance for me again," said Van thoughtfully, "No matter." Out of the corner of his eye, Luke caught Van's smirk and his stomach began to fall.

"Imitation of the true power of Lorelei's scion," said Van, "Make your existence perfect."

With a shock, Luke felt his hyperresonance appear and grow and grow and spin out of control. He felt the white, golden light spiraling in his core like a hurricane before it began to spin out of his body, visible to everyone. The hyperresonance began whirling towards the passage ring.

"No!" shouted Luke and he held his hands out, trying to control himself. He couldn't breathe; the power of the hyperresonance was too much. It was exactly like his first Akzeriuth. It was going out of control and Luke didn't even know when Van had made more trigger words and trying to catch a hold of the golden tornado was as impossible as moving from his spot. Luke was frozen to the ground.

_Luke!_ That was Asch.

_Asch!_ said Luke, weakly and powerlessly, _Help me!_

_I'm trying! _

With a surge, Luke felt Asch's golden power trying to force itself into his mind, trying to help get control before the hyperresonance destroy everything. The two melded everything they could to build up power and get control of the hyperresonance storm; they started to put figurative hands on it and force it down.

Just as the two of them nearly gained control over it, something pushed Asch violently out of Luke's mind.

_ASCH!_ Luke screamed, desperate. There was no answer. They were screams and yells from behind him, but Luke couldn't turn his head to see what was going on. Tears streamed down his face, the only physical indication of Luke's raging inability to stop himself.

_So you're his scion._

If Luke was able to move, he would have frozen in his spot at the unfamiliar, dangerously feminine voice echoing in his mind. The addition of something else in addition to him losing control of his hyperresonance was too much.

_Whoever you are, get out, _he snarled.

_Calm down, boy, _she said, calm supremacy flowing from her voice, _Lorelei will fight bitterly to keep you alive, however inconvenient that makes things for myself._

_Why are you here? _Luke snapped, _Who are you?_

_How like Lorelei to pick a boy without manners. Ask me again. _Her voice had sharpened menacingly.  
_  
I'm busy right now! _roared Luke, _Answer me or get out!_

Everything was ripped from Luke's meager control. The passage ring reverberated with the sound of the hyperresonance met the Fonstone keeping the Sephiroth alive. Like a crack of thunder, the passage ring was broken and falling to pieces. Luke fell to his knees in trembling shame and fury as Akzeriuth began to fall _again_.

_Gunthrea… _she laughed, _and I'm here to stop you. _

Luke's head shot up and saw only the dark purple and black memory particles circling him. The white and golden ones were trying to get past the dark curtain, but Gunthrea was keeping Lorelei far away from his scion. Luke reached out for the being that sent him here. _Lorelei... _

_That poor, gentle soul won't be able to reach you for quite a while, _said Gunthrea, _Until your death, you are mine! _Luke shuddered violently at those words. He felt a weird touch on his mind and tried to shove it away. But she was here to stay. _Not much here to speak of, but your life will be over soon._

_I… _Luke gagged and tried again. _I thought you said Lorelei wouldn't let me die._

_I said Lorelei would fight bitterly to keep you alive, _she said, a smile audible in her voice, _I do not believe that he will do you much good now. _And Luke saw Lorelei's memory particles being eaten and assimilated by Gunthrea's. Blankly, Luke watched Lorelei's presence disappear and felt Gunthrea impose her will more strongly on his mind until he couldn't move from his place on his hands and knees from her gravity. The air was so heavy.

With a bright flash of light and a tremble of heat, Gunthrea reeled back. She had such a presence in Luke's mind that he could feel it. He took the opportunity and created a hyperresonance by himself, one he could control. With a struggle, he stood up and melded his hyperresonance with Asch's: the hyperresonance that had saved his life. Together, the two identical sons of Fabre drove Gunthrea away and there were no memory particles left among the still crumbling passage ring.

When she was gone, Luke whipped around to see Van in battle with the others. He hadn't heard anything at all. Stumbling, he ran at Van with his sword drawn. He couldn't believe he had the energy to move, and his mind was still raw from Gunthrea ripping away.

He didn't know how it happened. One minute Van was there, and Asch was behind him. The next, Van had extracted himself from the battle, Asch had managed to get beside Natalia and Luke's insides were spilling out between his fingers.

Everyone froze, not that Luke noticed. Van whistled and two griffins arrived. He rose up in one's talons and the second creature grabbed Asch about the wrists and lifted the fighting man into the air alongside him.

"I'm sorry, Fon Master," said Van, "But I cannot afford to lose Asch."

Amid Asch's cries of "Let me go!" the two men being carried by griffin left the hall of the passage ring.

Luke's sword had long since fallen from his fingers. With his hands and arms and front were covered with blood, more pulsing out at every beat of his heart, Luke stared numbly at the mess of his stomach. Luke couldn't get the blood to stop coming. He was trying to put pressure on the wound and hold the two edges together. He kept trying and trying and didn't notice Natalia turning him over, five sets of hands trying to hold his stomach together or Tear singing the second hymn of Yulia to save them all.

He heard broken pieces of sentences that meant nothing to him.

"Thank Lorelei we were at the dividing line - "

"What was he _doing, _anyway?"

"Sempiterna flamma qui, dat vita, subsisto intus ei cado anima. Revive!"

"Cut the shirt away, for - "

After an eternity of voices and singing and the miasma, they stopped at the bottom. Tear's song fell away and she sat down in exhaustion.

"How's Luke?" she gasped.

"Stable," said Natalia, panting. She was bent over Luke's unconscious form, hands hovering over his exposed chest and stomach. "He'll be fine as long as he doesn't move, but that's impossible since we need to get out of here. He needs more help."

"What's going to happen when he wakes up?" asked Anise. Her hands were slick with Luke's blood. Except Tear, everyone's were, up to and past the elbows.

Natalia stared at the wound. "It's going to open up again. Even jostling him around a little will cause immense bleeding again."

"I'm so glad Luke convinced your father to let you come," said Ion, voice passionately fervent, "If you weren't here, Luke would have died."

"And I would have been blaming myself," said Tear, crawling over to look at Luke's stomach for herself, "You would try to talk me out of it, but I know I would take responsibility for it."

"But it didn't happen," said Guy firmly.

"Do we think it's a good idea to wrap him up?" asked Jade, stepping closer to Luke. Everyone had to back off in the later stages of Luke's healing while Natalia finished closing his stomach with as many healing artes as she could manage.

"Oh. Yes," said Natalia, digging through her bag for bandages, "I know it's a lot to ask, Tear, but can you manage continuous healing artes on him while we wrap him up?"

"Of course," said Tear, and once the others were ready with swathes of fabric, she began speaking nonstop in Ancient Ispanian accompanied by chilling blue light. As Luke's stomach threatened to open again, Tear was building up as much flesh and tissue as she could, countering the damage. Before it was completely covered up, everyone watched as layers of flesh grew under the surface of Luke's skin. It was a testament to Tear's skill that they managed to cover Luke's midriff with no bleeding.

"That's the best I can get," said Natalia, closing off the bandages, "Now he'll be able to at least walk without his stomach splitting open again."

"Tear, you can stop now," said Guy, gently coaxing her, "Luke's fine now."

"No he's not!" snapped Tear, interrupting her continuous flow of healing words, "otherwise he wouldn't be on the ground with a stomach that's barely holding together. I'm going to keep going until he's better."

"Tear, stop," said Natalia, "There's not a lot we can do until he can get to a hospital or more advanced medical help."

"No!" said Tear, "We can build up muscle and skin for him. We can speed up the healing process. We can heal it so he doesn't have to worry about his stomach when he wakes up. We can make it even just a little bit better."

"Tear - "

"Stop it!" said Tear, and her voice broke a little. "Just let me work!"

Natalia, Ion and Anise stayed with Tear, helpless, while Jade and Guy went to go look for a way out of the Qliphoth.

"Asch left the Tartarus just outside the city," said Jade, "It may have survived the fall."

"Those poor soldiers," said Anise glumly.

"There's nothing we can do about that now," said Jade, and the two men left. For Natalia, waiting was painful. Tear was casting artes without stopping, Anise and Ion were deadly quiet and she couldn't avoid hearing the faint whisper of Luke's breath. Natalia just rested. At one point, she scrounged around in her bag, looking for an Orange Gel or anything to keep Tear from collapsing, but to no avail. The only thing she could do was sit.

Jade and Guy returned before Tear fell over from exhaustion. Guy gave her a speculative look while Jade explained what they had found.

"The Tartarus is operational," he said, "And it's managing to keep above the mud. Guy and I have already... cleared it out."

"Let's go, then," said Anise, ignoring the implications of the Tartarus needing to be emptied.

"Tear," said Ion, bringing a hand to her shoulder, "We're going to be moving Luke now."

"Wait a minute," said Tear and she cast a few more healing artes, still unsatisfied with the result. "Okay."

Guy carefully lifted Luke onto his back. "You know, Tear, Luke's life isn't hanging in the balance anymore. It's okay to take a rest every now and then."

"Guy isn't telling you to stop healing Luke," said Natalia as she spotted Tear about to argue, "We should do it as often as possible. But Luke isn't going to be getting any help from you if you collapse at his side. You've done so much."

"...Okay."

The seven of them traveled over the fallen mix of rock and rubble to where Jade was pointing out the Tartarus to them. On the deck, Guy laid Luke down and they gathered in a circle around him while they decided what to do.

"Well, we've got the Tartarus running," said Jade, "It's operational, but we can't stay here."

"There's a city to the west," said Tear, "Yulia City. We should go there."

"You seem to know quite a bit about the Qliphoth," said Jade, "Are we going to get an explanation?"

"At some point, yes," said Tear, "When we're safe."

The Tartarus was set on a western course and talk turned to Van.

"My brother needs to be stopped," said Tear, staring at Luke, "I don't know why he wants Luke dead, but I will stop him."

"I'm a bit more concerned with why Van wanted to destroy Akzeriuth, and more than that, what his plan beyond this is," said Jade.

"The fall of the city certainly isn't where his plans end," said Ion.

"Whatever comes after, we have to stop it. It's our duty," said Natalia.

"Yes…" agreed Tear and everyone was silent as they listened to the Tartarus speed over the mud and miasma. It was broken by Luke groaning quietly as he tried to push himself up into a sitting position.

"Luke!" said Tear, and she ran over. She checked the bandages and didn't sense any large break of skin. For his part, Luke was mostly confused.

"What's going on?" he asked, "I feel like my stomach is on fire."

"You should lie back down," said Natalia, also checking him over, "We don't know how things are going to hold up for you."

"I'll be fine," groused Luke and he stood up, slowly and painfully. Everyone leaned in concernedly as Luke awkwardly took a few steps before he couldn't go any more and leaned against the closest bulkhead. "Can someone please tell me what happened?"

"Well, what do you remember?" asked Guy.

Luke frowned as he perused his memory. "The last thing is really a blur. There was blood and singing and that's about all I remember." His frown deepened and then he remembered the most important thing. He gasped. "Akzeriuth fell!"

"Yes," agreed Jade, "But it could have been far worse."

"Yeah," said Anise, "The only ones to die were the Oracle Knights Asch had brought with him. Compared to ten thousand citizens, this is the one of the better situations."

"But what if they didn't make it to Kaitzur? Or, or, what if Kaitzur fell, too?" said Luke, "How do we know?"

"We've traveled over the rubble," said Guy, "There's not enough of it to be anything but Akzeriuth and the surrounding area."

"I imagine there's some of Deo Pass down here as well," said Ion "But like Guy said, not enough to be any more than that."

"So you can rest easy," said Guy, "We're alive and the people of Akzeriuth are, too."

"But Akzeriuth fell!" said Luke, still caught on that, "It's a pile of broken rock and buildings and people's homes!"

"It's still far better than the alternative," said Tear, "You helped save the lives of every single one of those miners and their families. Think about that."

Luke stared into his friends' eyes and nodded. "Yeah… They're alive. That's the point." But he couldn't stop the tears leaking out. "I just can't get it out of my mind. What if Van and I had gone down into the passage ring first thing? What if none of the citizens had been evacuated from the city?" He could hardly get the words out through the sobs.

The bridge was silent. Guy and the others couldn't take their eyes off of Luke, no matter how embarrassed they were to be witnessing him break down.

"Can you imagine?" he asked again, clearly expecting an answer.

"It would have terrible," said Ion quietly but clearly, "A nightmare."

"I know," said Luke, "and I can't get it out of my head." The images flashed through his mind almost faster than he could process them, just slowly enough for him to know exactly what was happening. To his shame, his rejection from the group was one of the worst, second only to that little boy sinking into the mud, calling for his parents.

"But it didn't happen," said Tear, trying to get him to understand, "Everyone was saved."

"I know!" said Luke, "But I just can't stop…" _'I can't stop remembering!' _He stopped himself from saying. What would they say? 'Remembering what?' He choked up with more tears, his weeping renewed. It hurt to cry. His stomach was seizing up weirdly so he had to bend over to try and make it hurt less.

"I'm afraid I don't see the point," said Jade, "No one except the previous crew of this ship has died. We finished our mission in impossible time. Isn't this all something to be proud of?"

"If you think that," said Luke through tears, "then you don't understand what death is. I'm crying for the soldiers that died today. I'm crying because ten thousand people _could have_ died here today. Doesn't that scare you, you cold, broken _machine_?!"

"Now, Luke," said Guy, "There's no need to insult Jade."

"No, it's alright," said Jade, "I understand where he's coming from. Frankly, since he's the one who brought the city down, I'm more than willing to excuse a few insults."

"And the worst part of it," said Luke, tone rising higher and higher, "since I am the one who brought the city down, I would have ten thousand lives on my conscience, wouldn't I? Right? I would be the biggest murderer on the face of the planet, right?"

"Luke, that's terrible!" said Tear, "You need to stop thinking about it."

"I'm _trying_," said Luke with gritted teeth, "I'm _trying._"

"If you need a single thought to carry you through," said Ion, "Think of this. Ten thousand people are alive today because of you and your evacuation plan."

Luke met Ion's eyes and the Fon Master realized that Luke didn't believe what had actually happened.

"Luke!" he breathed in understanding.

"What?" said Natalia, "What is it?"

"I don't think Luke understands that the people we saved are really, truly alive," said Ion, not breaking eye contact with Luke. There were sighs of exasperation and pity.

"Oh, Luke," said Tear, words tinged with sadness.

"Just remember every person you sent in a caravan," said Guy, "And every person you helped onto the Tartarus. They're alive."

"Sorry," said Luke, covering his eyes with a hand, "It's just really hard to try and see anything other than what we left behind there."

"Just keep thinking about the people," said Ion, "and things will get better."

Luke nodded and that was the end of it. He refused to talk more about it and eventually everyone understood that. One by one, people dissipated from the room. Luke and Jade were left alone in the bridge.

"Something is going on here," said Jade, "and I want that explanation soon."

"Oh, leave it alone," said Luke with a dim smile and they faced the oncoming sea of miasma.

"How do you suppose Tear knows so much about the Qliphoth?" said Jade, not really asking Luke seriously.

Luke answered anyway. "I think she'll tell us soon. Whereas I can get away with having my secrets, hers affect us much more directly."

"Do you expect me to leave you alone when you give me such incredible hints?" said Jade dryly.

"I guess not," said Luke, pushing Akzeriuth out of his mind momentarily, "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorrier," said Jade, "I still don't know what you've been hiding."

Luke chuckled, his voice harsh from crying mere minutes ago. "Well, patience will conquer that."

"A promise of an explanation will be good enough for now," said Jade pointedly.

"Then that's what I'll give you," said Luke, smiling at the soldier, "I promise an explanation." Even just saying the words made Luke's stomach shiver in apprehension.

"Good," said Jade, "Now, I think we should gather again. I'd like to hear a little more from Tear about this place. Do you need help getting out there or would it be best to meet here?"

Given the choice, Luke decided he wanted to go out on the deck more than stay inside. "I'll go outside."

"Making more work for this old man," said Jade in a false grumble, "You young men not considering their elders and betters."

Luke laughed as Jade put an arm under his shoulder to help him walk. "So you're my better, are you?" He hid his pained grimace as he felt the pull on his stomach, and leaned down to try and stop the muscle pulling apart.

"At the moment," said Jade, but there was worry buried in his eyes.

After Luke had gotten more comfortable, he waved Jade's worry away. "I'm good now. Let's go."

Jade deposited Luke leaning against the outer bulkhead right by the door and went to find the others. Tear was the only one on the deck, and they exchanged smiles. Tear went up to Luke and started examining his stomach.

"Is everything going okay? Is it hurting?" she asked while running a small diagnostic.

"I felt it pull a few times," said Luke, letting her examine, "But I don't think the skin broke."

"Maybe I should run a few more - "

Luke cut her off, "Tear, it'll be fine for now, I said."

"Are you sure?" she asked, pulling her hand away, "There's been no pain or anything?"

"I'd be lying if I said it doesn't hurt," said Luke, "but you look tired enough already without adding to it. If you're that worried about it, it can wait until tomorrow. Or better yet, until we arrive at - somewhere else." Luke nearly said Yulia City, and bit down on that. He didn't remember Tear saying anything about it; he'd have to be safer about this. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Yulia City," said Tear, "It's to the west of here. You'll be able to get better help when you're there."

"I think I've had excellent help so far," said Luke and she blushed.

Soon after, more people meandered onto the deck with Jade at the tail end of the disjointed chain. In respect of Luke's limited ability to move around, they moved to be near him while they talked.

"I can hardly believe that this is all underground," said Anise.

"I know," agreed Guy, "Looking back on life above, I can't help but be nervous about all the space between it and here."

"It's not quite underground," said Tear, "Life above is lived on the Outer Lands. It's basically the shell of the plant lifted off of this place, the Qliphoth."

"How are the Outer Lands staying up?" asked Natalia.

"They're supported by pillars called Sephiroth Trees that grow up from the Qliphoth," said Tear.

"I don't quite understand," said Guy.

"Well," said Tear, "A long time ago, in the Dawn Age, the Outer Lands were here, in the Qliphoth. Two thousand years ago, the miasma covered all of Auldrant and Yulia devised a way to save everyone. Or rather, she read the Score for the first time and Lorelei gave her a way to save everyone."

"Why did the miasma appear?" asked Luke, looking for hints about anything regarding Lorelei.

"By the war that had enveloped the planet," said Tear, "I'm not sure how, exactly, but it caused the miasma to spring up."

"Following the first reading of the Score," said Ion, "Yulia made a plan to raise the planet's crust from the miasma using the Sephiroth that already existed. That was the start of the Outer Lands."

"But why did this happen?" asked Jade, "I'm assuming a Sephiroth was holding up Akzeriuth. Why did it fail?"

"Me," said Luke, trying to keep his voice light, "I destroyed the passage ring. The passage ring is what makes the pillar from the Sephiroth, right?"

"Right," said Ion, "The passage ring was destroyed with Luke's hyperresonance and thus destroyed the pillar completely. The Sephiroth itself still exists, but it will never have enough power to lift the land again."

"Cheer up, Luke," said Guy, "It could've been a lot worse, so let's just agree that it happened and get over it."

"Right," said Luke and he forced himself to lift his head.

Guy seemed satisfied with that.

"What's that?" said Jade suddenly.

"What is it, Colonel?" asked Anise.

"I think I'm detecting a large fonon signature to the west," said Jade, "It's faint, though."

"That must be Yulia City," said Tear, "We'll probably have to travel for quite some more time before we see it."

"For the time being, it makes a decent homing device," said Luke and that was it for then.

They arrived at Yulia City after several more hours of travel. There was no indication of day or night, so everyone took the opportunity to sleep at one point or another. When Anise spotted the city for the first time, nobody was quite up to par, but they were rested at least.

"Look at that," breathed Natalia, "It's beautiful."

They were standing at the port of the city, the only place they could dock the Tartarus.

"Yes," said Tear, "Much better than the rest of the scenery. The mayor's inside; come on."

With Guy's arm under his shoulder, Luke slowly followed the rest of the group.

"You..," said a voice from behind. Luke had Guy help him turn around to see Asch stalking up to them. Everybody slowed to a stop as they witnessed the scene about to take place.

"Asch," said Luke, "How've you been?"

Asch ignored Luke's attempt at humor and marched up to him, where he shoved a finger into Luke's chest. He winced at the pressure.

"You liar!" said Asch, "You had me tricked into thinking that Van was your enemy and then you destroy the passage ring anyway!"

"Asch…" Luke tried to explain.

"Did you not feel me trying to help, reject?" Asch was snarling, "I figured Van was forcing you to use hyperresonance, but you showed whose side you were on when you shoved me out of your mind, didn't you?"

"Asch, you idiot," said Luke, "Let me explain what happened."

"Explain what?" said Asch, "That you want to destroy the Outer Lands just as badly as Van does?"

"Asch!" barked Guy, "Luke said he would explain. Leave him alone. If you didn't see, Luke almost died because Van gutted him in the passage ring. Weren't you paying attention?"

"Asch, I can explain everything," said Luke, gently pushing Asch's finger off of his chest, "Just let us get some rest. There will be time for us to talk privately in the city."

"Luke still needs a lot of time to recover," said Tear, walking up beside Luke, "We'll be in Yulia City for a while."

"Fine, then," said Asch, and he glared at Luke one final time before stalking towards the entrance of the city, stubbornly keeping just outside of the group.

* * *

"Here you go," said Tear, gesturing at the room. 

Luke looked around from his seat on the bed. "It's very nice."

"T-thank you," said Tear, "For now, it should suit you as a resting bed. The doctor said that as long as Natalia and I continue intense healing, you'll be able to walk on your own in a few days."

"How long would it take on my own?" asked Luke.

"Weeks," answered Tear, "I should get started on the healing." She went through her entire repertoire of healing artes twice before she was satisfied with how Luke was doing. "Now sleep."

"You rest up, too," said Luke, "Using so many artes has to be tiring."

"I will," said Tear, and she left him alone in her room. Luke sighed and lay down, clicking off the light. He listened to Asch arguing with Tear and Guy below in their unofficial gathering room, and Jade reluctantly agreeing with the two. The voices weren't loud enough for distinct words to be heard, but it was obvious that Asch wanted to talk to Luke right away and the others weren't letting him. As for himself, Luke wished he could spend a decent amount of time in Yulia City without spending most of his time being unconscious or laid under. The murmurs of his friends' voices were comforting, and Luke felt himself drift off to sleep.

That was how Luke spent the next few days. Since Tear, Natalia, the healer and the doctor in the city told Luke that the best healing a body did by itself took place during sleep, Luke spent almost all of his time in bed. Every half hour, Tear and Natalia rotated healing duties, never letting Luke's stomach go unattended for longer than a few hours at night when everyone slept. Luke's stomach was bare for the entire visit. He wasn't allowed to move from any position but on his back for fear of the fragile skin holding his belly together snapping.

Whenever Luke was awake, he asked to explore the city but was refused every time. The most he was allowed was spending a few minutes in the selenia garden attached to Tear's room. He felt perfectly fine, he was near the end of his recovery, but Tear told Luke he had to get more rest because he wasn't recovered yet, silly man.

When the doctor announced that Luke was allowed to get up and walk, he cheered and sat up right away.

"Careful!" said the doctor, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder, "You may have a few centimeters separating your insides from the air, but it's not enough to hold under anything except simple moving about. There is to be absolutely no fighting until both of these young ladies agree that you're fully healed." He gestured to Tear and Natalia who were both present. "You will continue to have them heal you twice a day until that day comes."

"Yes, sir," said Luke meekly, and the doctor nodded smartly before leaving Tear's room. "A few_ centimeters?_"

Natalia smiled. "Of skin. A human body can produce enough layers to stop bleeding in mere hours. Our artes just helped it along. It doesn't sound like much, but for skin, a few centimeters is a lot."

"Huh." Luke spread himself out a little and examined his naked top half. "I'm a bit scarred, aren't I?"

"A bit," said Tear, hiding an amused smile.

"Really," scolded Natalia, "Look at yourself, your stomach and the one on your shoulder, to say nothing of the little ones that are just about everywhere."

"Natalia's right," said Tear, and the two exchanged knowing looks, "You need to be more careful in battle. One of these days, you won't get these little scratches." She poked a thin, two centimeter long scar on his arm. "It'll be as big as this." She pointed to the red, harsh mess of his stomach. "Maybe even bigger. You should train with Jade more, he emphasizes not getting hit by the enemy at all. I think it'll be good for you."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," said Luke, trying to get up again, "I just want to get out of here. No offense, Tear."

"While I'm not offended," said Tear, "you can't get up just yet."

"What? Why not?" asked Luke, indignant.

"Asch," said Natalia, shrugging helplessly, "I'm sure you've heard us arguing already, but he's upset because he hasn't talked to you yet. He's been waiting downstairs since this morning when the doctor said it was okay for everyone to see you."

"Well, isn't everyone else going to see me first, before Asch starts his interrogation?" asked Luke.

Tear shrugged, a mirror image of Natalia just a moment before. "They agreed to let him come in first. He was making quite a fuss."

"Okay," said Luke, feeling ominous, "Has he... explained things to you, Natalia?"

Natalia smiled weakly. "A little bit. I…think I understand what's going on."

"Well, there goes my delay strategy," said Luke with a laugh, "Alright, I'll see him." He made himself comfortable while the girls left and tried to arrange things in his mind so he wouldn't be too confusing.

Asch came up the stairs and sat down on the chair by the bed Luke was in.

"So, talk."

Luke laughed disbelievingly. "Oh, just like that? Give me somewhere to start."

"Alright, how about we start with how you already knew what a hyperresonance was when I met you? I know that Van told you, but somehow, Van didn't seem to think so in the passage ring."

Luke hesitated. _Can we talk mind to mind?_

"Why?"

_Because I don't want to be overheard,_ said Luke, refraining from adding the sarcastic 'why else?'.

_Fine. Talk, replica._

_First of all, stop calling me replica, _said Luke, _You don't have to call me Luke, but at least give me the dignity of a name._

Asch frowned in thought. _Why are you standing up to me all of sudden?_

_Because I'm telling you everything, _said Luke, _Everything means a lot to me, and I'm not going to let you sit there and disrespect what makes me who I am._

_Okay. Luke. _The name was voiced with the mind's equivalent of grinding teeth and a growl in the throat. _Tell me 'who you are'._

_I… _Luke stopped to calm his stomach. _I'm still me, Luke. So you understand. I…I'm not exactly from…the future…but I am. It's really... I'm from another world. Lorelei sent me to this world to save it, and now I'm doing everything in my power to stop Van from destroying Lorelei. That's who I am._


	12. Asch's City

_**Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Notes:** Well, that was longer than usual, huh? I have a number of excuses: it's exam month and the teachers have decided to load as many projects and tests before the finals; I've started to watch Scrubs and have spent much writing time getting up to where I am now (somewhere in season 5); well, those are it for excuses, and I'm really not feeling guilty about it. I'm busy and this story isn't a priority compared to my schooling.

While I must commend my Spartan beta as usual, I'm going to let you in on something. He's re-writing his Kingdom Hearts fic, and it's really good. It's called the Elysian War, and you'll find it under my Favorites. I'm beta-ing for him, so do me a favour if you like Kingdom Hearts and go take a look.

Review both mine and his if you like them. Come on.

* * *

Asch quietly stared at Luke, who swallowed at the other's silence. 

_Doesn't that... faze you? _he asked Asch.

Asch blinked, clearly surprised. _You mean you were serious!_

Luke gave Asch a look. _Yes! I'm serious! I'm from another world!_

_That doesn't make any sense!_ argued Asch, _Tell me the truth or I can't promise what happens next!_

Luke sighed at Asch. _Look, at this point, it's pretty obvious that you're not serious about your threats - _He was cut off when Asch, quick as lightning, leaned over and grabbed Luke's throat in his hand. With that grip softly enforcing Asch's resolve, Luke just glared at him.

_Okay, I get it. Let go. _

Asch slowly let go, but didn't relax back into his chair, staying uncomfortably close to Luke's injured stomach.

_But I was telling the truth. _Before Asch could lean in again, Luke challenged Asch's confidence. _How else would Van be able to teach me what a hyperresonance is when you saw in the passage ring that he didn't?_

_His memory could have been altered, _said Asch.

_Is Van stupid enough to let anyone do that to him?_ returned Luke, _I think you know better than that. How did I know how to contact you before I went to Choral Castle?_

_...You figured out who I was when you saw me on the Tartarus and made a very good guess as to how to contact me. _Asch's face was slowly becoming thoughtful.

_How did I know what Van was planning? I certainly didn't get it from you. I know exactly what he's going to do after this. He's going to try and make all of the Outer Lands fall, then when we stop him, he's going to replicate Hod and start replicating the entire population of Auldrant. Did you know all of that?_

_Not all of that, no,_ admitted Asch, _To be honest, it would be a huge advantage if you were telling the truth. Anything else?_

Luke tried to find something more convincing, but found that his ways to make his knowledge believable to Van was working against him. Then something occurred to him. _Can you see my memories? I know you can see what I can see if you want, but is it possible to...?_

_Maybe, _said Asch, _In theory, if we have access to everything in each other's minds, then it should work. I'm going to try._

Luke smiled uncertainly at Asch's refusal to ask permission and began to sit in a more comfortable position. It could be a long process. He felt Asch trying to get into the deeper part of his head, and even though Luke was letting him go at it, it wasn't working. Asch growled. _Is this a trick?_

_No!_ said Luke, _Keep trying. I know you want to believe me._

Silence from Asch. Finally, Asch leaned in and put his hand on Luke's head. The contact broke whatever barrier that was holding him back, and suddenly Luke's memories were being pulled out to be seen by both of them. Asch carefully looked over Luke's first seven years of living and then Tear taking him away. He felt Luke's arrogance and blind elitism. He watched Luke complain about everything, and noted Luke's inability to figure out who Asch was until it was spelled out for him. Asch watched Akzeriuth fall with ten thousand people still in it; he watched the group lower the Outer Lands; he watched himself unable to accept Luke; he watched Luke defeat Van... He skipped forward in Luke's memories, faster and faster until Luke understood Asch's desperation. As Asch threw himself into Luke's memories, his emotions began going out of control, easily felt by Luke.

Asch was struck by Ion's death; vindicated by Mohs' demise; saddened by the deaths of his God-General companions. He was fascinated with watching himself appear before the group and spend moments with Natalia. Suddenly Eldrant appeared and Luke winced as certain things came before his eyes. Asch was horrified when he watched himself lose against Luke, and gave Luke the name. Asch watched these minutes in almost slow motion unable to tear his eyes away. When Luke departed from Asch in the memories, he flipped through, looking for more in the present. Suddenly Asch was violently sick; sick to the point that Luke himself wanted to vomit in sympathy. In Luke's memories, he felt himself die and give his power to Luke.

With his last, trembling strength, Asch watched Van die and then ripped his hand off of Luke's head, turning away to vomit. Luke's stomach shuddered as he felt the same emotional distress, and he bent over it in pain as the shudders wrenched his wound.

"That's not all," said Luke, voice trembling slightly.

But Asch's voice was shaking to put Luke's minor shivers to shame. "I can't watch any more."

"You have to," said Luke, "Or you won't understand."

"I won't understand," said Asch, wiping his mouth, "Won't _understand_. I understand fine! I'm dying! I saw that!"

"But we can stop you from dying!" said Luke, trying to convince him.

"By Yulia," said Asch, "They're your memories and _you_don't even get it! The Big Bang Theory! My fonons are flowing into you as we speak - I'm dying this second!"

"We can stop that, too!" said Luke, "Lorelei can save us both! You didn't see the rest!" He reached over to Asch, trying to get him to understand, but Asch recoiled.

"Get away from me!" Asch spat at him, and he managed to get to the stairs without Luke noticing how, "You murderer! I can't even save _myself_ from you!" And Asch ran down the stairs, breathing harsh with fury and despair.

Luke sat down on his bed, buried his face in his hands, and cried bitterly. He was unsurprised to find he had some tears left.

* * *

Hours later, the group was still wondering what was going on. Luke refused to see anyone after Asch left, still upset about how that conversation had ended. He didn't know what the others were thinking, but he seriously doubted that they knew what was going on. He would be surprised if Asch told them, at any rate. 

Luke had no success in trying to contact Asch. Every time he tried to reach him through their minds, he was violently blocked until it appeared Asch didn't even need to concentrate on holding the block there. Luke almost started bashing through it - he could do it, he thought - but he stopped himself. Forcing himself to be recognized by Asch wouldn't go over well considering how Asch was feeling about him right now. So that door between their minds remained closed and locked shut. It was with a glum set of mind that Luke finally stopped trying that night.

"I suppose this would be a bad time for an explanation, then?"

Luke looked up from his lap to see Jade walk in. "Hey, Jade." He tried smiling, but he wasn't sure how it looked to the other man. "You're here late."

"Since Guy and Natalia are too busy trying to interrogate Asch, I was the one elected to check on you," said Jade, "Your stomach is in alright shape, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine," said Luke, briefly lighting his fingers over it to check for breaks on the scar, "But I don't think Guy and Natalia were actually that angry and worried over Asch. Did you want to see me?"

"I was hoping that you would be willing to shed some light on what happened with you and Asch today," admitted Jade, and he pulled up a chair beside Luke's bed. His eyes lingered on the pile of towels in the corner and he asked Luke about them. "What's that?"

"Um. Vomit," said Luke, the corners of his mouth pulling down. He wasn't so much grossed out by it than saddened by the fact that it happened. About an hour after Luke had finally pulled up from his tears, he cleaned up the small pile of sick. The smell was getting to him.

"Whose?" asked Jade.

"Does it matter?" asked Luke, but he wasn't angry. He was tired of it, of these stupid questions. He wished Jade would stop being such a perfectionist with his nitpicky questions and ask the serious questions if he was going to ask at all.

Jade gave him a look. "It would tell me who was the one feeling sick. Did someone say something so horrible that the other couldn't handle it?"

"I told him the same thing I'm going to tell you, and eventually the others," said Luke, "Basically."

"Basically," said Jade, and the humor returned to his voice, "I suppose there are some things that can only be shared by the two of you. Speaking of which..." He looked Luke straight in the eye. "Do you know what you are in relation to Asch?"

"Yeah," said Luke, looking down, "After the first couple times, it was kind of hard to ignore the fact that there was someone who looked exactly like me also running around Auldrant."

"So you know for sure that you're a replica, and Asch is your original," said Jade, seemingly wanting to get all trouble out of the way right now. Luke nodded.

"Yes, I know that," said Luke, "You know... I never told you, but I have all of your books. That's how I learned about fonons and fonic artes and the properties and everything I could read about replication. You didn't write anything about human replication, but after I saw Asch for the first time... I wondered."

Jade's face was utterly impassive. "I see."

"And..." Luke faltered. He didn't know what Jade was thinking and that unnerved him more than anything else could. He couldn't go on if Jade knew that he was lying. Even if it was just his poker face. "...Except for the fact that I have your books and read them, that was all a lie. But... Can you let it be like that until later? Please?"

"I'm patient," said Jade, still perilously unreadable, "But I'm starting to think that the only time you've ever been completely truthful with me was in the Deo Pass."

"I was angry," said Luke, "I let some things get away from me." Remembering, he frowned in derision of his badly thought out actions.

"I always appreciate a cool head," said Jade quietly, "but if the cost is your honesty, I would prefer you to be an angry loudmouth."

Luke snorted; half in amusement, half in detest. "I really wouldn't be so sure about that. I can be a pretty annoying angry loudmouth when I want to."

Jade 'hmm'ed, neither agreeing or disagreeing.

"Well, when have you been perfectly honest with us?" asked Luke, not wanting to be the only one defending himself, "I know you know something about this whole replica conspiracy thing." He knew every part of this, but... Luke was beginning to realize that just because he knew about everyone's past secrets didn't mean that the people around him were ready for acceptance and letting go of things. "When are you going to come clean about what you know?"

"That's true," said Jade, "But just as I have not forced you into revealing your secrets, I have secrets about my past that I am not willing to explain at this moment."

"Yeah, I get you," said Luke, and he briefly thought about telling Jade everything he knew about his past in Keterberg, Nephry, Saphir and Gelda Nebilim before passing it off as a bad idea. "I don't think I'm ready to tell you everything yet, either."

"Especially after that bad experience with Asch, am I right?" said Jade, smirking.

Luke didn't attempt a smile. "I guess." Boy was he right.

"Well, that seems to be everything of importance for now," said Jade, standing up abruptly, "Will you set a date for this future conversation of ours?"

"I suppose... Maybe... A week after we get back up to the Outer Lands," said Luke, "Maybe sooner if I feel ready." Oh, but by Yulia, he didn't think he would ever feel ready.

"Then I look forward to it," said Jade, bowing mockingly, "I'll send someone else up momentarily."

"Alright."

Within a minute, Guy was walking up the stairs and pulling up the visitor chair. "Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Guy," said Luke, leaning back in his bed, "Jade tells me you were upset with Asch."

"Huh?" said Guy, "Oh, well, I just wanted to make sure he hadn't hurt you or anything. He's really angry." The question went unsaid in his eyes.

Luke shifted uncomfortably at the inquisitive look in Guy's look. "Yeah, he is. I don't know. It seems everything I say sets him off. I need to talk to him some more, but... He didn't seem like he ever wanted to even look at me again."

Guy whistled. "What did you say to him?"

"I just explained my full plans for Akzeriuth," said Luke, "I guess something in it just... made him mad. I have no idea." The lie flew off his tongue smoothly and disturbingly enough, it didn't make him feel guilty the way it did with Jade. It must have been Jade's poker face, he consoled himself with.

"That's weird," said Guy, "I guess it's just Asch."

"Yeah..." said Luke.

"So, anyway," said Guy, changing the topic, "I can't wait until you see the city tomorrow, Luke. It's amazing! There are Fon machines everywhere and even though it's surrounded by the miasma, it's so beautiful here!"

"Ha, I bet you don't even care about that," laughed Luke, "You just like the Fon machines!"

Guy raised his hands in surrender. "Guilty as charged!"

Guy's high spirits raised the mood of the room, and Luke couldn't help but laugh along with his friend as they talked about the wonders of Yulia City. Even though it was a nice place, Luke thought, there was still the lingering feeling that this city was Asch's. Everytime he had gone to Yulia City before, he couldn't shake the mood that came upon him every time. In his mind, it would always and forever be the place he associated with Asch - Asch's city. Unfortunately, considering how badly the relationship between them was going, some parts of the city were just too hard to think about.

But he kept his spirits up for Guy's sake, which wasn't as hard as he'd thought with Guy being so happy about the whole experience. Guy waved good-bye and then Anise and Ion came in.

"Luke, you're alright!" said Anise, running over. Neither of the two young teenagers took a seat as they hovered anxiously over Luke. "It looks so bad, but at least you're able to walk around, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," said Luke, "Just... Don't touch it, okay?

"Sure," agreed Anise, and she dropped the hand that had been hovering nervously over it, as if she couldn't believe the scar was there.

"How are you?" asked Ion, and Luke understood Ion wasn't asking about his physical state.

"I'm fine, Ion," said Luke, "I'll be up to my bouncy self in no time."

The two giggled, as Luke was almost never bouncy, and started sharing funny stories about them coming into Yulia City.

"And Guy was so excited when he walked in," said Anise.

Ion nodded happily. "He started running in all directions at once, trying to decide what he wanted to look at the most. He was in a state of natural ecstasy."

"He would be," said Luke, "seeing as we barely have any of this technology up in the Outer Lands. Guy's realizing he's been deprived his whole life."

The two agreed. Suddenly, Natalia appeared at the top of the stairs, saying that the two needed to go to bed so Luke could see everyone before it was time to sleep. With a collection of protests, mostly from Anise, they went down the stairs and Natalia walked over. She started the nightly routine of healing his stomach while they quietly talked.

"Has the day been exhausting for you?" she asked.

"A bit," admitted Luke, "Nothing too bad, though. How's Asch?"

"He's... hard to get to," she said, "I can't get him to calm down, and he's been spending the whole time running around the city, trying to find a place to waste energy."

"Yeah?"

Natalia nodded and finished with Luke's stomach, started fixing his sheets as she talked. "Mmhmm. It's almost frightening, how angry he is. I can barely get glimpses of him before he rushes off again, trying to do who knows what. I just wish I knew what was bothering him."

"He sounds indecisive," said Luke noncommittally.

"He does," agreed Natalia, "It's like he can't decide how to deal with it. I'm glad you understand some of what's going on in his head."

"Natalia..." Luke swallowed nervously, "Are... Are we still...Family?"

The princess blinked. "Well, of course, Luke! Why would you think otherwise?"

"Well, you know, since I'm Asch's replica... I just want to know if you're okay with all of this. I mean, maybe I'm a little scared that you won't want to be my cousin anymore since Asch came first, but - " Luke babbled on, trying to get her to understand. Sure, Natalia accepted him before, but did that mean she would do it again?

"Luke, don't be silly," Natalia scolded him, "You're both my flesh and blood cousins as much as ever before. We've had seven years together, and you mean just as much to me as he does."

Luke grinned, surprised by his relief. "I'm glad, but I think he might be a little more important, huh?"

Natalia was about to argue when she saw Luke's impish look, and blushed a little. "Well... In another way, certainly... But it's not more than you, and not you more than him. I'm close to the both of you, okay?"

"Okay. Have a good night," he said to her. She smiled, and satisfied with Luke's attitude and bedspread, went down the stairs to let Tear into the room.

"Hey," he said, and Tear smiled.

"How are you doing?" she asked him quietly. As she asked, she lifted up the blanket to check on his stomach.

"I'm good," said Luke, "Natalia just did some healing stuff."

"Healing stuff," murmured Tear in amusement, but she seemed pleased with how it was doing. She seemed ready to go, but she was hesitating.

"Wanna have a seat?" said Luke, offering the visiting chair, "I mean, it's your room, right?"

"Alright," said Tear. She pulled the chair up and Luke waited until the question he saw in her burst out.

After about thirty seconds of silence, Luke drew in breath. "Well? What do you want to know?"

Tear shook her head and seemed very unsure of herself. "I - I just wanted to apologize for my brother doing this to you." She had said it quickly, almost too quickly to be understood.

"Even though it's not your place to apologize..." said Luke, "Thanks."

"I can't help but feel responsible for it," said Tear, relieved that Luke accepted what she said, "Even though Van did it, I was there. I should have seen it coming. Especially with what was happening to you in the passage ring, I shouldn't have expected you to be fighting at your best. And even at your best, no one is expecting you to be on the same level as Van."

"Except me," said Luke, thinking back on the moment grimly.

"Your confidence aside, I should have known something was wrong and stepped in," said Tear.

To soothe her conscience, Luke didn't ask why she thought he'd be able to take on Van by himself, and investigated what piqued his curiosity the most. "What do you mean, you saw something was wrong? It was just the hyperresonance, right?"

"Well, it was even before that," said Tear, leaning in as if it would help Luke better understand, "It was hard to see since we were all running down to you so fast, but I'm almost certain that the memory particles were different colors when we got to you than when we first came into the passage ring."

Luke's eyes widened. "Really? What colors?"

"I can't be exactly sure," said Tear, smiling at Luke's interest, "When we came in, I think they were mostly white. Maybe a tinge of gold, but I may have been imagining that." She wasn't, but Luke didn't interrupt. "But when we got to you, only half of them were like that. The other half had changed into these... dark purple things. Maybe even black; it was hard to pinpoint."

Even though they were just colors to Tear, Luke thought he knew what it meant. _Gunthrea?_

"Are you sure there was actually a change, Tear?" he asked her, leaning in, "Maybe those black ones were only around the Fonstone and you didn't see them."

"No," said Tear, "If there were actually other colors, they didn't exist when we came in."

"So... What were these memory particles doing that made you think I was in some sort of trouble?" he asked.

Tear spent a few minutes thinking before she answered. "Well, they were all swirling around both you and Van. I stopped paying attention to them once you made a hyperresonance, but I just thought you might like to know about them."

Well, Luke's memory could fill in the gap from there. Those black particles were Gunthrea, and Luke was flooded with the sense of déjà vu as he remembered realizing that in the passage ring.

"Tear?" he said, "Have you heard of Gunthrea?"

"Gunthrea?" she repeated and looked up at the ceiling to think for a few seconds before shaking her head. "No, I don't think I ever have. It's... familiar, though."

"But do you know why?" asked Luke, and Tear again shook her head. Luke loosely clenched a handful of blanket in his fist, but let it go as he sighed. "Okay."

"Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" asked Tear.

Luke leaned back, and for the first time that night, felt tired. "I don't think so. Although, I am really happy that this thing is over."

"I'd imagine so," said Tear with a smile, "You've had a hard time of things, haven't you?"

"You have no idea," said Luke, rubbing his forehead, "I made plans, and even though I thought I was prepared for everything, things still fell apart on me."

"So that's why you... had a hard time letting go of the fall of Akzeriuth," said Tear in realization, "If those mistakes had happened before the evacuation..."

"Yeah," said Luke, laughing harshly, "It would have been more than a mistake."

"But luckily," said Tear firmly, "you planned for almost everything and things turned out really well."

"I think that's a problem we have in common," said Luke, smiling sadly at her, "We both try to plan for everything, and we don't allow for things that could throw it off. I think Guy would have some advice about that. About being able to mentally prepare for things coming in that aren't on your checklist."

"What do you think Guy would say?" she asked him.

Luke thought about it for a minute. "He would say something like, 'You guys are expecting perfection. You're going to have to realize that the world isn't going to go according to a bunch of teenager's plans, like it or not.', or something like that."

"Sound advice," said Tear agreeably, "What would you say?"

"I'd say... You have to make our plans anyway, but be ready for things that could throw you off. Because if we're not ready for those unexpected things... I'll fail." Luke finished that sentence with as much composure he could muster. It was hard. He didn't even realize how his pronouns were changing, but he did realize how much this conversation was teaching him something.

"Also good advice," said Tear, and she watched him with an odd look in her eyes.

"Ah, I think it's the human element," said Luke, letting the words he just spoke sink in, "Human emotions and actions are hard things to predict, you know?" Tear nodded and Luke continued. "They're dangerous to people like us. We're not ready for it to work into our plans, but somehow... They do."

Tear slowly nodded again, and they looked at each other while they thought about it.

"You know what, Tear?" said Luke, "I think we should watch out for each other. Maybe we can help each other not get blind-sided by these kinds of things. I think we could both learn something. What do you say?"

"I'd say that sounds acceptable," said Tear, and Luke smiled at the uncomfortable formality that jumped back into her tone, "We'll watch one another."

"And help with mistakes, and be patient with each other," said Luke, explaining in-depth what he meant. Tear didn't seem to be getting scared off. This was good. Maybe she already liked him some.

"I think it sounds... good," said Tear, "Now, both of us need sleep. I'll see you first thing tomorrow morning, so I can heal you before you get up. I'm sure you'd like to see the city."

"I would like to see it," said Luke, "See you."

At the stairs, Tear turned off the lights. "Oh, and Luke? Don't worry about Asch."

"...Good night," said Luke and he lay down in Tear's bed to sleep.

* * *

Early the next morning, Luke was woken up by Tear. 

"Good morning," he said, and she greeted him back. They made small talk while Tear checked on his stomach and performed the artes, and then Luke got out of bed with a cheer. As soon as he did so, his stomach seized and Luke bent over in pain.

Though she wasn't mean about it, Tear had words for him. "Luke, you didn't actually expect that you would be able to just jump out of bed with nothing to show for it, did you? No, you'll be out of sorts for a while."

"Ah, thanks, Tear," said Luke, grimacing, and he slowly unbent at the waist and straightened his shoulders. He carefully started to walk out of Tear's room and she followed him.

"You're doing well," she commented, and soon Luke was able to keep a steady, moderate pace.

"Where's everyone else?" asked Luke, looking around the dimly-lit city.

"They're around, keeping themselves busy," said Tear, "Jade and Ion have been talking to my grandfather, Mayor Teodoro, about finding a way to get out of the Qliphoth with the Tartarus. They have some ideas and they're just hammering out the final details. Guy's been wandering around, looking at as much old technology as he can. Anise and Natalia have been exploring as much of the city as they can, and Asch... Well, never mind Asch right now. We'll worry about him when it's time to leave."

"Okay, then we might run into the others," said Luke, pointedly not poking at Asch's door. It was hard, though. This looked like that time he was watching the world through Asch's eyes. Once, in his past life, Luke had heard that everyone saw the world differently, that it was a physical and mental difference. Back then, Luke hadn't been the type to think about it, but he gazed around now and saw that there were differences. It was nothing Luke could point out, and say, 'Ah ha, this is it!', but there was something strange about it when he had seen the city through Asch's eyes. It was something wrong with the color, Luke thought to himself. Asch saw things with more blue and red. Maybe that was it. Or maybe Luke's mind was making things up. But the city looked more purple than usual.

Luke shook his head and looked around. Things were now seen according to Luke's eyes, and that was going to be that. As interesting as the experience had been, Luke wouldn't choose to go back into Asch's head again.

"Tear!" A woman Luke vaguely recognized ran up to Tear and stopped short when she saw Luke. "Oh, he's recovered!"

"Hello, Layla," said Tear, "This is Luke. Luke, Layla. What is it?"

"I found the symbol for the Third Fonic Hymn - it was in one of Van's old books. I had almost forgotten to tell you, but I remembered when I saw you. Come over to my place later..." At Tear's look, Layla hesitated. "Unless you're free right now."

Before Tear even gave Luke an imploring look, Luke was nodding his head. "Sure, I think we have time."

So they went, following Layla to her office by the fon stone under Teodoro's conference room. Layla rooted behind her desk before she dug out an old book that didn't seem to be in the best shape.

"Here you go," said Layla, handing it to Tear, "It seems like Van marked this book up quite a bit - I'm sure you'll be able to find hints about the other Fonic Hymns as well."

"Yes, but where's the symbol of the Third?" asked Tear, flipping through it.

"It's a page at the end," said Layla, "To be honest, I don't know if it was ever part of this book."

Tear nodded and went to the last page, where she pulled out the slip of paper. She stared at it, and her eyes grew wide. "This is - !"

"What is it, Tear?" asked Luke, peeking over her shoulder. There was a picture or hieroglyph in the middle surrounded by at least a dozen other smaller ones, but it made no sense to Luke.

"It's the Third Hymn," said Tear, "I understand it!" She excitedly mouthed the words to herself, and couldn't hide her delight in a way that was so reminiscent of Anise that Luke had to chuckle.

"So are you going to do it?" he asked her.

"Here? No!" said Tear, and Layla expressed the same feelings with her facial expressions.

"..." Luke tried an opportunity to get some information, "These hymns from Yulia, they're all about Lorelei, right?"

"Not quite about Lorelei," explained Tear, looking at the book rather than Luke himself, "but they do represent the pact between Yulia and Lorelei."

"What was the pact?" asked Luke.

Tear glanced at Layla and decided that they should leave her office. "Come on, Luke." When they were outside, Tear tried to give him answers. "Why so interested?"

"Just curious," said Luke, "Trying to fill our time, I guess. So what was the pact, really?"

"An agreement between them, and that's just about all we know," said Tear, "They made it because the miasma appeared and Lorelei saw that all of Auldrant needed help or it would die. So that's why he gave the world the Score - as one of his parts of the bargain."

"And the cheagles were part of it, too," said Luke, "Which is weird. This is way too complicated."

"Well, if you're really interested, I'm sure Ion will let you visit the library in Daath," said Tear, "It's huge; I'm sure it has everything we know about it."

"That's good enough," said Luke. Suddenly he couldn't wait to get there, unable to shake the feeling that this whole journey to another world revolved around Lorelei, Yulia and the miasma.

"I'm glad you're curious, though," said Tear, "Even though you know quite a few things, your isolated life in the manor can't have been good for learning about the world. It's good that you're trying to find things out for yourself."

"Thanks," said Luke, and he thought he might have blushed a little. It was so like the times before, when Tear had complimented him on learning things and trying things... Would he ever get his relationship with her back?

The two spent a pleasant day walking around the city, meeting people as they went, and enjoying conversation.

* * *

That night, Luke went up to his bed. He hadn't seen Asch at all that day, but Anise and Natalia said that they had seen him around and Luke's worry was slightly alleviated. Everyone said their good nights and split up to sleep. 

Luke lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling and contemplated trying to talk to Asch again. It was hard to figure out what the last thing Asch had seen, or even if he understood all of the events fully since he had seen them go by so fast. Since Luke had been watching the memories flash through his eyes the same as Asch, it was up to him to know what all Asch had seen. Luke was sure that Asch had seen Van's death, but maybe he had seen further, to when Luke was holding his lifeless body on the way down through Eldrant...

Getting more and more tired, Luke went over the morning's events with Asch in his head, and remembered as best as he could. As he reached the end of his patience with himself, Luke decided that the last thing Asch saw was Van's death. Nothing else after that. He almost tried to talk to Asch, but when he was about to, he second-guessed himself. Asch wouldn't want to talk, and Luke was too tired to successfully win an argument against him right now. So he resolved to do it tomorrow. Asch would have to listen, or who knew what else would happen.

He closed his eyes, ready for sleep. Then... There was a touch on his head. Luke's eyes shot open but there was no one else in the room. _I didn't just imagine that. _Confused, and slightly scared, Luke watched the room to make sure nobody was really in it, and laid back down. He was uncomfortable, but he did close his eyes again, ready for sleep.

It came again, and again, there was no one there. More paranoid than ever, it took five minutes for Luke to be ready to close his eyes again. He spent those minutes walking around the room, and waving his arms about in case someone had technology to make themselves invisible or something. But there was no one.

For the third time, Luke readied himself to sleep. But when that person touched his head, it didn't go away when Luke opened his eyes. Still seeing nobody there, but feeling fingers on his head, Luke realized that it wasn't his head someone was touching - it was his mind. Luke swallowed.

_Asch?_he asked tentatively.

There was no answer, and Luke knew it wasn't Asch. His original would never touch him so lightly, not without saying anything. Right?

_Asch? Or Lorelei?_

No response. Luke squeezed his eyes shut in apprehension when a thought occurred to him.

_...Gunthrea?_he spoke into the space.

_My boy, be quiet while I work. _It was Gunthrea.

_Work on what? What are you doing? _he asked, waving his hand over his head as if he could swat Gunthrea's hand away.

_Ah, that's for me to know, and you to find out. A human saying, but it fits well. I will tell you this as a treat, though, for being able to feel me here. You have a wonderful gift. _She seemed pleased, Luke thought.

_But that doesn't tell me anything! _said Luke, distressed with this unknown plan, _And stop it!_

_Doesn't it? _she asked coyly, _I will stop when I'm finished, stripling. _

_Get out_! roared Luke, and he mentally shoved her as hard as he could. She only shifted a little before settling in again, but didn't answer. This went on for some minutes until Luke got desperate and created a hyperresonance. He heard Gunthrea gasp, and he hoped he wasn't imagining it. After the brilliant light of it faded, Luke was sitting upright in his bed, listening for the woman-being to return. She didn't. Carefully, Luke lay back down and started to fall asleep within seconds.

Tear came to check on Luke and that light, but Luke was already snoring.

* * *

Luke woke up the next morning, and started looking for Jade. When he did, he stood in front of the soldier with his arms crossed and a thoughtful frown on his face. 

"Have you ever heard of Gunthrea?"

Jade frowned at Luke and thought about it for a minute. "No. It's vaguely familiar in a sense, but I can't say that I have."

"Oh. Okay," said Luke, feeling deeply disappointed.

"We should gather everyone together," said Jade, taking no notice of Luke's discouragement, "We have a plan for leaving the Qliphoth with the Tartarus intact."

"Okay," said Luke, "To the conference room?"

Jade confirmed it, and Luke went up to Teodoro's conference room, making sure not to go too fast. It would be a shame to pull something in his stomach and have even less mobility.

Teodoro and Ion were waiting there, and Luke saw himself down in the chair across from Ion. "Hey."

"Hello," Ion greeted him, and they waited for the others to arrive. When everyone was seated, Asch included, Jade started to explain.

"In case I haven't been able to get around to all of you, I'll tell you how we're getting out of here. Using the Sephiroth at Akzeriuth, we're going to lift the Tartarus up to the surface."

"How is that going to work?" asked Asch.

Teodoro spoke up. "We've attached a fonon activator to the Tartarus that should stimulate the Sephiroth, similar to what was in the passage ring. If it works, the Sephiroth will give one final push and bring you back to the surface of the Outer Lands. This would be very easy if you didn't need the landship, but Colonel Jade has already assured me of its necessity."

Asch grunted, and sat back in his chair.

"The Sephiroth is basically made up of memory particles, right?" asked Anise.

"That's right," said Ion, "They're just a place for the planet's fonons to concentrate, and artificially concentrated even more."

"So... memory particles are pushing us up," said Guy skeptically.

"Yes," said Jade, "We'll catch the memory particles with the Tartarus' sails and be pushed all the way up. I wouldn't be too concerned about the chance of failure, though - if the Sephiroth fails to push us up, it won't do much of anything."

"I'm not all that comfortable taking that risk, but if there's no other way..." Guy shrugged stiffly, "Fine."

"Very good then," said Jade, clapping his hands together in exaggerated joy, "We shall be ready to leave within the hour. I'm sure more than one of us is ready to leave."

Luke stopped himself from glaring at the man. He both wanted to linger in the city and delay the inevitable explanation to Jade, but he supposed it could be worse. Though Jade was pushy, he was a gentleman about it and always left the choice up to the other person even when it didn't seem like it. He was tricky like that.

He automatically went to gather his things with everyone else, but stopped short when he realized that all of his possessions had been destroyed in Akzeriuth. "Umm..."

"Oh, yeah, you didn't get new things," said Guy, halting behind Luke, "Yeah, come on, I know where to find supplies for you."

"Thanks, Guy."

Within fifteen minutes, Luke had clothes for the next week and a bag to carry them. Together, he and his best friend walked out to the Tartarus with the possessions that they borrowed from the official hamper for the needy. They got settled in their rooms, and Luke went to look for the others when he found that he had nothing to do until they left. According to Jade, everything that needed to be done to the Tartarus had been done, so now they were just waiting.

He spent a minute staring at the room he was staying in, remembering what it was in his old life. This exact room had been his, as well. Asch had stayed in it during the trip up, but mostly it was Luke's. It got him wondering. What was going to stay the same; what was going to change? Already, everything had changed because Luke had shown Van he knew everything, and it scared Luke that he didn't know what was going to happen next.

Luke experienced a few seconds of weak knees before scolding himself for his needless low spirits, and forced himself to walk out of his room. He checked in on everyone except Asch, as he was still wary of what Asch would say or do. He had been hoping for someone to talk about his Auldrant with, but of course, Asch was only making himself angrier about it. This was exactly why Luke didn't want to talk to anyone about it.

At the end of the hour, everyone met at the bridge where Jade started giving out instructions.

"It will be difficult to run the Tartarus with only five people, but it's manageable," said Jade, and everyone got into their positions.

"So, again, we're being pushed up by memory particles?" said Guy.

"Yes," said Jade, with little amusement in his voice now that they were about to rise to the surface.

Luke shot a glance at Asch, who pointedly ignored him, and then back at his panel. There was a loud hum of the engines as the others started up the landship, and then Asch signaled the activation of the Sephiroth stimulator, which set the whole ship rumbling.

"Here we go!" said Anise, and they went forward into the stream of memory particles.

The bottom of Luke's stomach dropped as he felt the Tartarus lift into the air. Through his side port, he saw the gigantic current of the Sephiroth beside them, pushing them up. He did his part to keep the ship in the middle of the memory particles as he possibly could, and it was all Luke could do to stop himself from being distracted by the swirling mix of the golden memory particles and the purplish-red Qliphoth.

Then they were at the top, back in the Outer Lands. The Tartarus rocked side to side for a few minutes before it settled in the water, and the group immediately started figuring out where they were.

"Yulia City is a little east of Radessia," said Tear, "So we must be somewhere between Sheridan and Belkend, and just south of Daath."

"So where do we go from here?" asked Anise, "What's our plan?"

"The most important thing is knowing what Van is going to do next, or even better," said Tear, "Stopping him."

Asch hesitantly spoke up. "There's a lab in Belkend that he often stays at, but... We might be better off looking in Ortion Cavern."

"Ortion Cavern?" asked Jade, "That research lab has been abandoned for several years now. What makes you feel that we'll find something about Van's activities there?"

"Well," said Asch, clearly making up an explanation on the fly, "It's where fonimin is produced, and we know that Van is doing something with... replication. Since replication has been forbidden, but Van has obviously been creating... replicas, maybe we should look more closely."

Luke faked a yawn to hide his mouth dropping open. Asch was using Luke's memories to skip a pointless diversion - exactly what Luke himself was doing! Maybe all wasn't lost. But when Luke tried to make eye contact, he caught a glimpse of Asch's scowl and subsided. Alright, then.

"That makes sense," said Natalia slowly, "I say we try it."

"Alright, then," said Jade, "To Ortion Cavern."


	13. Getting Somewhere

_**Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Notes: **Well, I don't know what to tell all of you. I'm sorry for the wait. For some reason, I couldn't put down words for this chapter. I had to cut it short because of this ridiculous inability to write this, or else it might've been another week or so in coming. So, I hope it wasn't too long for you and I also hope the words for the next chapter flow freely. Enjoy this one.

Elysian War, people. Elysian War. A new project, Kingdom Hearts, epic and it needs love. I love this project as much as I love Promethes Mneme. It's in my Favourites, on my profile and it needs attention from all of you! Don't let me down, guys! 

Also, big thanks to Spartan for ghost-writing some of this chapter. A much needed part of it, and I'm grateful.

Enjoy.

* * *

Sync had a seal on his chest and stomach. It wasn't a normal seal meant to boost the power of fonic artes. No, this one was specially created by Van in order to let Sync's body continue functioning when he used Daathic fonic artes - or any arte that used a large amount of Seventh Fonons. But it wasn't finished yet.

With time on his hands, Sync paced the large cave, remembering exactly what the seal looked like under his uniform. Just under half of it was finished; yellow marks on his right half but only pale, white skin on the left side. Sync couldn't wait until the left side was finished. Using artes like Akashic Torment without pain or being winded would be such a gift.

But ignoring all of that for now; what Sync needed to concentrate on right now was what he was going to tell Asch. Legretta could say all that she wanted about how Asch had betrayed them and was now working against Van but Sync wouldn't believe it. And... Even if he was... Asch should still know what was going on in the Outer Lands. Sync shook his head and continued pacing nervously. He couldn't afford to give information to a traitor, but Sync couldn't explain his attachment to the red-haired man.

* * *

_"Hey, you okay?" Asch gave him a concerned look._

_Sync looked up at Asch, and rubbed his temples. "No, I'm... Just a headache."_

_"Do you need a Gel or anything?" asked Asch. He took a seat across from Sync, and started digging through his travel bag._

_"No, Asch, I'm fine, really," said Sync. The other man shrugged and put his bag to the side. "Did you just get back from a mission?"_

_"Yeah," said Asch, "Legretta was paranoid about one of the Sephiroth, and I had to do some double-checking. Pointless, really, we already checked Shurrey Hill."_

_"Well, Shurrey Hill is the newest Sephiroth discovered," said Sync, "The commandant is ready to put everything into action; it'd be chaos if we screwed up somewhere."_

_"But you like chaos."_

_"Not if I'm the one taking the crap when the commandant finds out there's a problem," said Sync in dark humor, "I like making trouble, not taking the blame for it."_

_"So... How are you?" asked Asch._

_Sync met eyes with Asch and frowned slightly. Should he tell the truth? Should he tell Asch that he was feeling sick from the seal Van had started the other day, that he hadn't had a good night of sleep since he had met the other replica Fon Master? That he hated being a replica, never to be a true part of society, so much that he wanted to die? That he now drank hard liquor so many times to drown out the loneliness he felt._

_"I'm fine."_

_Instead of accepting that, Asch just nodded and Sync knew that Asch knew he was lying._

_"Well, Sync," said Asch, "if you don't want to talk, that's fine. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to turn in, but I've got some extra desserts from St. Binah. Largo tells me you have a sweet-tooth, so you're free to have them."_

_"Good night," said Sync quietly, not wanting to meet him in the eye anymore._

_"Night."_

_After Asch left for his room, Sync sneaked over to the bag Asch had left in the chair and dug through it quickly, looking for the so-called desserts. There were three giant pastries, each filled and covered with fruit glazes. They were all of them neatly packaged and in a separate section from Asch's clothes. With a shiver in his stomach, Sync realized that these pastries were always meant for him._

_He took all three of them, savored them for a very long time, and wondered why Asch was being so nice without reason._

* * *

_  
_Sync was never taught what a friend was, and so couldn't put a name to his relationship with Asch. All he knew was that he wanted to help Asch out. No matter if it was the commandant himself who said that Asch was against them now, Sync couldn't and wouldn't treat him like an enemy. Sync knew that some day he would have to deal with his loyalties, but it was not this day.

The God-General paced around the lab of Ortion Cavern and stopped by the cheagles. He leaned over them and considered feeding them. There was a small supply right there, and they were probably hungry... Suddenly, Sync whipped around at the sounds of battle approaching the lab. He picked up his mask where he left it on the panel and put it back on. Should he go and meet them? Or just wait here? In his indecision, the choice was made for him.

The girl with pigtails and Asch's replica were the first to walk around the corner and they stopped short immediately when they saw him.

"Sync!"

_That's me. _

"I'm here to talk to Asch," he said. "I figured you'd all come eventually."

"How did you know we'd come?" asked Asch, coming around the bend last to meet Sync.

Sync shrugged lightly. "What Legretta said seems to be true; you're traveling with them. If they're pursuing Van, then it follows that you would tell them that Van has a base of operations in Belkend, which all the God-Generals know. And Belkend leads here."

Asch seemed to accept that. "And what else? Why did you want to meet us?"

"I didn't want to meet with you all." Sync hesitated. "I just wanted to meet you."

Everyone else looked to Asch as he decided what to do. Asch seemed indecisive for a minute but then he shook his head. "Well, whatever. You can tell them what you're going to tell me."

Oh. That wasn't what Sync had been expecting. Regardless...

"I have news for you all, then," he said, starting slowly. He didn't know why he wasn't blurting it all out when it was so urgent, but something in his brain was slowing him down. "The Rugnican Plains have begun to fall, and the area surrounding the Sephiroth in the Zao Ruins are going to fall soon after."

"Shurrey Hill was already gotten to!" Asch's replica, Luke, yelled, and then put a hand over his stomach. Was he sick?

"Yes," said Sync. "It wasn't helped by Akzeriuth being screwed over, but everything is definitely on the way down."

There was silence as all this sunk in.

"Thank you for telling us," said Asch. As if backing up Sync's words, a small rumble shook the earth for minutes. The others exchanged looks and then back to Sync.

"I should be going then," said Sync, feeling a little self-conscious with nothing left to say. The group in front of him parted to let him leave, but Asch's replica followed after him.

"Sync! Wait."

Sync stopped and turned around as the other approached him, looking for a little privacy.

"I know this is probably a stupid question," the replica began, "but have you ever heard the name Gunthrea?"

Sync didn't know why he paused for a second instead of immediately saying no and leaving, but he did. And... Come to think of it...

"Wasn't that a fairy tale?"

* * *

Luke was so amazed that Sync actually might have heard the name that he didn't process what he said for a bit.

"A fairy tale? What fairy tale?" he asked, eager for more.

But Sync didn't have much more. "I'm not sure. It was burned as heretical. That's all I know; and it may be wrong. Can I go now?" His tone was bored, and Luke gestured to have him go.

"Thanks, Sync," he said. Words he thought he wouldn't say. With a nod, Sync turned and left again. Luke watched him go before coming back to the group, where they gave him weird looks. He shrugged at them, and turned to the laboratory that was staring them all in the face.

"So what is all of this?" asked Tear.

"A fomicry lab, if what Asch says is true," said Jade.

"Yes, it's true," said Asch, and Luke knew he was accessing his memories again. "Not that I know exactly what's all in here."

"Of course," said Jade, ambiguously enough that the others, Luke included, had trouble telling if he was serious or not.

"I don't!"

"I just agreed with you," said Jade. "You don't need to throw a temper tantrum."

"I wasn't thr - "

"Oh, come, come, you're wasting time."

It was obvious to everyone in the cavern that Jade was enjoying making the steam come out of Asch's ears, but wisely, no one commented. At least, not until Asch's face faded to its usual pale color.

"Cheagles..." Natalia murmured.

"They must be the original and its replica," said Luke, watching them carefully. "The one on the left... I bet that's the replica."

"Why do you say that?" asked Guy.

Luke shrugged, thinking that this pair's situation was the opposite of him and Asch. "Because it's the weaker one."

Both Asch and Jade swiveled to frown at Luke, for entirely separate reasons. And without even looking back at them, Luke knew what each of them were thinking. Asch was, of course, wondering why Luke insinuated himself as the weaker of the pair, though through Luke's memories, Asch knew that the replica had 'won'. And Jade was likely wondering - or putting this piece of the puzzle aside on his mental table - how Luke knew that the one on the left side was the weaker of the two cheagles.

"I wonder if they breathe fire," said Anise, having missed the byplay between the three men entirely, or perhaps ignoring it.

"Let's see, then," said Ion, and he leaned forward to try and lightly poke the cheagle on the right. It quickly released an ample stream of fire equal to that of Mieu's when holding the Sorceror's Ring. Startled, Ion jumped back.

"Careful, Ion," said Anise reproachfully, perhaps trying to hide her fear for Ion's safety.

"What about the other one?" asked Tear, and Guy went forward. The cheagle on the left, already identified by Luke as the replica, let out a jet of fire but the reduced amount of flame was glaringly obvious.

"It must be the replica," said Jade, voice clouded as if speaking his thoughts aloud. "Reduced abilities are common with them."

Luke ignored the sudden hair-raising awkwardness of the situation and dismissed the cheagles from his mind, but some of the others had things to say.

"Jade," said Asch, "How often is it during the creation of a perfect isofon that there is a negative effect on the original?"

"It's been known in some cases," said Jade carefully. At Natalia's gasp and the clenching of Luke's jaw, Jade clarified. "If Asch were to get sick and die from the replication process, it would have happened long ago. I wouldn't worry."

As he had never done before, Luke read into Jade's words. _You wouldn't worry? Do you worry anyways?_ Luke shook his head and turned his head from the cheagles, switching Asch's attention from the creatures to the machine Luke was studying.

"Hey, what's that?" Asch's question shifted the focus of the room.

"Is that a calculation device?" asked Guy, walking up to it. Jade came next to him and the two studied it for a few minutes, announcing their conclusions to the others.

"It's still running..." said Guy. "What does that mean?"

Jade ignored Guy's rhetorical question and instead focused on what the calculation device was actually doing. "It's research. Fomicry research, of course."

Asch made it a trio in front of the machine. "It's replication of huge objects. They're doing it by increasing the data collection area. I wonder how big an object Van intends to..." He trailed off and then his face shot back up at the main screen, his face twisted in angry disbelief. "Impossible!"

"What?" asked Tear, "How big?"

"...Thirty million square kilometers," said Jade. "It's more than a tenth of Auldrant's size." Even the older soldier was stunned.

"Where would they even put that, never mind actually getting it to work!" said Anise. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Well, is there anything else?" asked Ion.

"Yes," said Jade, tapping away on the machine. "Replica data, years old. The Malkuth military was supposed to have to disposed of this long ago. It's from Hod; all of it."

"How can you know?" asked Guy, and Asch let the blond forward to see what Jade was doing.

"I took the data myself," said Jade. "I remember it."

"So... They're trying to raise a replica of Hod?" asked Natalia.

"Who knows?" said Asch, "Let's just get out of here. There's nothing left to see."

"Wait a moment," said Jade. "I'm taking this data with us. It will likely be useful in the future."

Luke merely sat back, having nothing to contribute in the whole discussion. How much more of this could he take; watching everyone go through the same motions, the same discoveries, while he couldn't say anything without endangering himself and throwing the whole mission in jeopardy? He sneered in self-contempt.

He tried not to drag his feet behind everyone else after the group released the cheagles, and it worked sometimes, but he just wanted a break, a release. He wanted the option to not have this responsibility of being Lorelei's right-hand man all the time; If only he could do it without any consequences. If only life had no consequences... But it did. Just as destroying a passage ring destroyed ten thousand lives, and just as stepping in the nest of a giant land squid would invoke its wrath by challenging the meddling intruders in a fight to the death.

Luke's train of thought suddenly crashed at the last recollection as he whipped his head around in a panic and saw that Anise was the closest to the monster's tide pool. 

"Anise, look out!" Luke screamed, rushing to the startled girl and forcefully shoving her aside just as a slimy blue tentacle erupted from the waters and struck him in the chest. He went flying back and crashed into the rock wall behind him, dazed by the impact as he cursed the fact that he failed to use his foresight once again. 

"Luke!" Guy yelled and was about to rush to his side when Jade grabbed him by the arm. 

"He'll be fine, for now let us concentrate on that creature. Tear, Natalia, stay back and support us with your healing arts. Guy, Anise, Asch; distract the target and give me some time to cast." The others fell into position without question and began their assault on the creature as Jade prepared a fonic arte. 

"Forget about me Jade?" said Luke rhetorically as he ran past the seasoned soldier. 

"It wouldn't even cross my mind," Jade replied. 

Luke ignored the response and headed straight into the fray, dodging under the swing of a tentacle and delivering a quick blow to the monster's torso. The creature reeled in pain but was given no reprieve against the following onslaught delivered by Luke, Guy, and Asch. Guy attacked with arcing swings that cut across the monster in the shape of a crescent while Asch repeatedly thrust his blade into it, letting loose a deadly current of electricity with each strike and Luke followed up with a strike to the very ground that threw broken pieces of rock into its face. 

The monster roared with pain but was seemingly unaffected by the attacks as it batted the three men away like nothing more than a nuisance. Guy flew the farthest, landing just beside Jade while Luke and Asch were flung right into Tokunaga. 

"Argh, guys! You messed up my spell!" Anise shrieked and shoved the two off of her doll's head when her attention quickly turned to the monster as it began to quiver sickeningly. "Eww, what's it doing?" 

Small jellyfish-like monsters began to emerge from the sides of the squid mutant, bobbing about as they attempted to smash themselves into the group. They were quickly overwhelmed by the small mutants allowing the larger creature to attack them with ease. 

"Damn, these things are annoying!" Luke said as he fended off the small monsters while evading the mutant's attacks. 

"You should fit right in with them," said Jade.

"Shouldn't you be casting?" Luke grunted as he dodged another blow from the large mutant. 

"I would if my allies weren't in the intended area of attack," Jade replied, killing a jellyfish with a swing of his spear. 

Luke rolled his eyes as he killed another of the odd jellyfish. "Everyone fall back and give Jade some room!" 

"Thank you," Jade said, raising a hand towards the mutant and uttering an indiscernible phrase. When he finished, a large mass of rock rose up suddenly and pounded into the large mutant, causing it to stagger back in confusion. 

"Looks like an opening," Asch grunted and charged at the beast. The monster, however, recovered quickly and swung its limbs in an attempt to batter its assailant away. Asch reacted quickly, somersaulting over the attack and bringing his sword down into the ground. "Slag assault!" he yelled and caused more stones to pummel the monster. This only infuriated it further as it smashed several tentacles into the ground in an attempt to crush Asch who darted away safely. 

"Stay clear of this, Asch," Luke muttered as he ran past and into the squid's vicinity.

"Fangs of hell rise!" he began, gathering the Second fonons that had amassed themselves on the battlefield. "Devil's Maw!" The ground once again erupted only this time it included a wash of searing magma that broiled the monster's flesh, causing it to retreat further in its agony. 

"Don't tell me what to do, _replica_!" Asch grunted as he reentered the battle, leaping over another blind swing of tentacles. "Havoc Strike!" He smashed his boot into its head with concussive force as Luke darted in close and began to hack away at its torso. Asch landed next to Luke and began another assault, hardly noticing that the two were mirroring each other's attacks with utmost perfection. 

"Raging Blast!" they cried simultaneously, their artes fusing together as one into a massive explosion of energy that rocked the beast to its very core as it fell back and retreated into a clam-like shell. 

"Time to end this!" Asch snarled and charged at the monster with Luke following closely behind. 

"Wait, stop!" Jade yelled but his order went unheeded as the creature burst from its shell and pummeled Asch away, narrowly avoiding Luke who managed to duck below the attack. The monster reared its head above Luke, mouth agape as it prepared to consume the young redhead whole. 

Time seemed to slow down around Luke as the monster's mouth came down on him. Everything was a haze in his panicked mind, his friends all rushing towards him in fear, the monster's maw bearing down on him; it all just seemed to be blurring away when something in his mind snapped loudly. 

_what holds you back_

Luke's eyes widened at the sudden whisper in his mind and he felt something strange gather up in him. Power, _his_ power; the strength he had to change this world that he had been hiding all along. His emerald eyes glazed over and he sneered at the pathetic monster that was about to devour him. To think he would die like this, after all that he survived was laughable. This beast won't get the satisfaction. With the sudden surge of a dark, unknown energy, Luke smashed the flat side of his sword into the monster's mouth and sent it flying into the tide pool. 

"Heh! Pathetic…" Luke muttered with a low growl, sheathing his blade and turning to face the reemerging monster head on, marching towards it with an arrogant confidence. 

"Luke, what are you doing?" Tear started, taking a few steps before being held back by Jade who stared intently at the boy. 

"Don't tell me you don't feel that," said Jade.

Tear cast a second glance at Luke who was now only twenty feet away from the monster when he stopped. This time something did pull at her invisibly, almost as if every fon slot in her body was being gently drained, when she saw something nearly unnoticeable gathering around Luke's forearms; a dark purple-crimson haze. 

"Miasma?" she said, to herself more than anyone else. 

The monster, now fully reemerged, roared in fury at Luke who only stood against its threat with a sneer plastered across his face. Luke stood sideways, taking a fighting stance, before throwing out five punches into thin air. The punches themselves never struck but the massive waves of the strange purple colored energy that shot out from them blasted into the monster, turning the impact points into a sick blue pulp. 

The monster screeched in agony and collapsed, staring at the other monstrosity before it in fear. Luke grinned viciously and unsheathed his sword and struck it to the ground behind him, charging it with the same alien energy he had used to injure the creature. 

"Forces from the depths of the abyss, come forth and drag this hapless being into oblivion! Diabolic Ruin!" Luke roared and swung his blade upward with all his might. A massive shockwave cut across the ground and eviscerated the monster, killing it instantly before a blast of dark energy followed the same path as the wave burned everything in its wake a split second after. And as the dust settled, all that was left was ash. 

Luke collapsed to the ground in exhaustion gripping his knees tightly as he breathed raggedly. He felt a sharp pain in his stomach and looked down to see his wound had torn a little. 

"Luke!" Tear exclaimed, rushing to his side and noticing the fresh blood starting to be absorbed into his clothes. "You shouldn't push yourself just yet." She healed him, doing her best to ignore what he had just done. 

"I'm more concerned about what it was that you just unleashed, Luke," said Jade, no expression on his face as he stared intently at Luke. 

"I'm not exactly sure, Jade. That was the first time I've ever done that," said Luke, panting. 

"I see… Well, you certainly seemed to know what you were doing," Jade replied. 

Luke grunted and met eyes with the soldier. "I said I don't know. It just sort of came to me." 

"Well, regardless, I won't press the matter." The older man shrugged and walked away as Guy, Anise, Ion, and Natalia came up to him. Tear finished on his stomach and stood up next to them and helped him stand.

"Wow, Luke what was that?" said Anise.

"I don't know, Anise," said Luke, shaking his head slowly.

"My, Luke, I hope you'll be okay," Ion said softly, watching the blood-soaked portion of Luke's shirt with sympathy. 

"I'll be fine, Ion, and thanks, Tear." Luke nodded to the two. 

"Please try to take it easy, Luke. I don't want to see you the way you were down in Yulia City," said Natalia. 

"Natalia's right, Luke. It'd be really hard on everyone here if you died after living through that last mess," said Guy.

"Thanks guys, I'll be fine. What about Asch, is he okay?" Luke asked, looking past his friends to see Asch quietly scowling at him. 

"I'm_ fine_," Asch answered, the sharpness of his voice cutting. "Let's get out of here; Sync said that St. Binah was going to fall."

"Don't forget Chesedonia," said Anise, trying and failing to be truly sombre.

"St. Binah is closer. Let's move," said Asch and led the others who quietly followed him without question. Luke didn't care overly much about who he followed or even about whether he was leading the group at all. That attack he had just done... It was amazing, and he would love to do it again, but his thoughts... Coming out of that attack was like pulling his head out of water, like he could finally breathe again. Even minutes after he finished attacking, the thoughts still circled around the edges of his mind. What were they...? Were they him?

"Hey, how did Sync get out of here?" asked Luke, looking around the bay for evidence of another ship. "Oh, wait, the ship that was here - "

"Since that ship was small, probably a one-man," said Ion, "he'll probably meet up with a larger ship or convoy out on the sea."

"Oh, okay."

So they boarded the Tartarus again and started to leave for Rugnica. Luke was strangely calm as he thought about the entire situation, abandoning the dark thoughts for a few minutes. _Lowering the land the same way as before can only be a good thing,_ he thought, _but it all has to get done before I can take on Van. And to lower the Outer Lands, we need to unlock all the Sephiroth. But Tear... There's no way to unlock them without Tear getting sick. She's the only one who can absorb the Seventh Fonons... This is looking hopeless._

Luke silently considered what to do once they got to Shurrey Hill, but couldn't think of anything. The only thing Luke would accept was dragging a drugged and unconscious Van with them to every Sephiroth, but that wouldn't do very well at all.

"Hmm..."

Luke looked up at Jade's voice, who was staring straight ahead. "Jade?"

The man didn't answer for a minute, and in that time, gained everyone's attention with his quietness at the helm. "There's a ship coming to meet us. Come to a stop." They did so, Luke especially pleased because he could do it well now.

Leaving the ship to drift, they all went above deck and found the ship was from Daath. The captain of the other ship looked surprised to see not just Ion, but also Natalia and Luke. "Fon Master! Your Highnesses!"

"What's the matter?" asked Ion. "Do you bring news from Daath?"

"From the whole world, most like," said the captain. "Kimlasca is declaring war on Malkuth and has Daath's full consent."

"What?" said Natalia, looking scandalized. "Why would Father allow war?"

"Because everyone thought you died at Akzeriuth, Your Highness." The captain looked confused in a frightened sort of way. "Except for Colonel Curtiss, it was thought that no Malkuthians died while the two main heirs to the throne of Kimlasca perished. Kimlasca thought it was a plot to undermine them and so decided vengeance."

"Ion, this is awful!" said Natalia. "We have to issue a declaration of our survival right away!"

"Yes, of course!" said Ion. "Thank you very much for the news, sir."

"Yes, Fon Master!"

"Whom do you sail for?" Jade asked the captain, eyes narrowed slightly.

"Daath, sir," said the captain. "Fon Master faction."

"I see," said Jade. "We must be off, I'm afraid. Daath is now our highest priority. We leave now."

"Of course," said the captain and he left to go on his own ship. Jade didn't need to order anyone back into the bridge, as everyone was already halfway there. Luke found he was starting to get used to these unexpected events on his journey. So many things had gone off course and Luke was left reacting to things yet again. It was like pulling at a horse's reins only after it started to go off course. Figuratively, Luke didn't know the horse well enough to predict where it wanted to go. Or in this case, he didn't know how to handle this new world well enough to predict what was going to happen next. This declaration of war was always going to happen, he thought as he fiddled with the Tartarus' controls, but it wasn't the most important thing.

Well, to be fair, he hadn't actually been here at that point. He'd been... just waking up down in Yulia City and telling Tear that St. Binah was about to fall. But he'd gotten to Daath and they'd still had time to save St. Binah, so Luke thought things were fine. It didn't calm his nerves, though. The clock on the city was still running, after all.

They were much closer to Daath than Baticul, anyway, so it was only a matter of a day or so to get to Daath. Natalia hadn't wanted to stop at all on the way, and no one had really wanted to get in her way, so they continued driving the Tartarus along until it was late into the night. When they docked, Luke could see all but the dullest stars in the sky. They blurred a little and he rubbed his eyes to make them feel less heavy. Yulia, was he tired.

"Let's go to the cathedral," said Natalia, lowering her voice because of the late hour. "The news of our survival will be released by dawn here, but if we hurry, Father could know by tomorrow some - "

Luke barely had time to understand why Natalia was cut off before he hit the ground hard. "Urgh..." The clatter of armor surrounded them, filling Luke's ears as he was roughly bound, gagged and blindfolded. He fought as hard as he could, even getting a punch in on one of them, he thought. It rebounded painfully off what could have been a breastplate, and his arms were pinned together at he was forced onto the ground. There was a digging pain in his back, but try as he might, Luke couldn't fight them off. His sword was tugged away; cloth was shoved into his mouth and tied around his head.

He groaned through the gag and writhed around as much as he could and received a painful blow to the head for his trouble. Luke continued trying to break free and couldn't hear what the soldiers surrounding them were saying. After a few minutes of rolling around, a hand grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head up. Something sickeningly sweet was pressed to his nose and mouth, and he quickly fell into the black.

* * *

Asch leaned against the wall, panting for breath as quietly as he could. One hand rested on his sword hilt and the other grasped the only other who had managed to escape with him: Anise. He glanced down and met eyes with her. Her face was dead white in the faint glow from the streetlamps and her eyes reflected the same fear Asch felt deep in his core. For a passing second, he regretted closing off his mind to the replica, but then pride closed that door again. Asch would rather go straight to the abyss than open that link right now. He knew, he_knew_ that he was being stubborn. He knew that he was wrong. But Yulia herself couldn't convince him to open the door to the replica.

"How are you?" asked Asch, heart still beating out of control.

"Fine. Sort of. Okay. I mean, not really okay, but considering, I'm feeling downright ecstatic, except for Ion being who knows where - "

"Stop talking."

"Right." 

"Who do you think did this?" asked Asch, with someone already in mind. However, it was always intelligent to ask for someone else's opinion, especially since they were in the same organization and moved in much the same circles. "Someone who knew we were coming?"

"Mohs, of course," spat Anise, her breath under control. "He's probably the one who convinced King Ingobert to declare war and everything."

"Good. We're on the same page."

Anise smirked, but it was weak. Her fingers were still tightly wrapped in her fist, shaking slightly. Asch thought nothing of it; fear was normal, fear was good. It would help them in the next little while.

"Then can we go take the fat freak down now?"

Asch shook his head, regretful. "No, we can't afford that right now. The most we can do right now is save everyone else. We'll wait a few hours for everything to calm down and then focus on finding them."

Anise frowned in frustration. "I wish we had a locating beacon for them or something. It'd make things so much easier; we could be done and out before mid-morning."

Asch swallowed the small lump in his throat and released Anise's hand after a final squeeze. "No cheating in life." He walked away from the main roads and into the backalleys, making sure that Anise was following closely.

He was killing time. There was nothing else to be done. It would be stupid to go in now when they didn't even know where the others were. Even knowing the layout as well as they did, Oracle Knights wouldn't stop swarming the underground quarters and the two of them had no chance against all of them. And from the words Sync had used in Ortion Cavern, Asch knew almost for certain that he could not go in and fake his authority.

Knights still moved about the streets at this time, quietly walking and looking around the dark houses and shops. Luckily for Asch and Anise, they probably thought they could manage to capture them without disturbing the citizenry, stupid as they were.

Being of a higher caliber than your average knight, Asch and Anise easily evaded the soldiers until dawn. When they started to leave from discouragement, the two started planning.

"There's an entrance to the headquarters to the right of the cathedral, right?" asked Asch as they watched the guard.

"Yeah, you've got him," said Anise, peering at the guard. "The door's right there. It's not used very often, but if you know the way, it's quicker to get out."

"Then let's go."

Asch and Anise both swore and jumped in surprise at the voice from behind them.

"Colonel!" Anise cussed again. "Don't do that!"

"I thought you were with the others," said Asch, heart hammering at the shock it received.

Jade smiled condescendingly. "Please. It was child's play to give them the slip. Unfortunately, freeing any of the others would have been too large of a commotion. I imagine someone somewhere is having a hard time explaining why six prisoners are logged in when they have only five."

"So I guess we're going in now," said Anise. "It'll be so much easier with the Colonel."

And they went. They casually strode to the cathedral, just a few soldiers going for a Score reading. They hovered near the entrance where Anise discreetly pointed it out, and when they were confident no one was looking went down the covered passage. The guard hardly had time for his eyes to widen before Jade clipped the back of his head with the butt of his spear.

"I'm guessing that there'll be more guards than usual today," said Anise, "but not enough to be a problem for us."

"Then why are we waiting?" said Asch and waltzed right in. Anise hissed at his audacity but followed at his heels while Jade kept up the rear. At first, there were no obvious soldiers pacing the floors. But as soon as they quietly moved past the first stairs, they found the place very active but clearly calming down.

"This is lucky," muttered Asch from their safe place below the eyes of the Oracle Knights. "They might be thinking we've left the city."

"Or it's a trap," said Jade. Asch merely grunted and slid his sword from his sheath. Seeing this, Anise grabbed Tokunaga from her back and held it at the ready, and waited for either the Colonel or Asch to make a move. Asch made sure that Jade was ready and then came forward to meet the knights.

It was an interesting ten seconds. When the Oracle Knights first laid eyes on Asch, there was a pause between where they froze in place and jumped forward with a yell. Intelligently, Asch used these first seconds while they were still processing who Asch was to them and between the three of them, the first batch of Oracle Knights were taken care of without much trouble.

"If only it'll all be this easy," said Anise mournfully and followed them on.

"By the way," said Jade, "do we know where they are? I had assumed you knew where you were going."

Anise and Asch exchanged looks and shook their heads. Jade looked mildly peeved, but he didn't blame them. "I suppose there is no possible way you could have figured it out."

Asch trotted ahead of them so they wouldn't be able to see the guilt on his face. Stupid replica, going to Choral Castle and opening this link to his mind. If he had known it was going to be this much trouble, he would have... Asch sighed and stopped.

"What is it?" asked Anise.

"Just hold on a second." Trusting the two to watch his back, he tuned out of the physical world and faced the door at the back of his mind. He took a deep breath and opened it. There was the rush of another conscience coupled with bundles of feelings that roared in like a wave. Standing there, Asch weathered it and walked in.

_Asch?_

Asch didn't want to talk, and words froze in his head, but he forced himself to say something. _Where are you?_

_Asch, it is you! It's so good to know you're safe! Anise and Jade, too?_

_Yeah, _said Asch_. Listen, can you tell me where you are?_

There was a pause. _No, sorry, I was unconscious when they brought me in - hold on. _The replica left the conversation for a moment and Asch caught the echoes of the current conversation in his head.

'...down in the...'

'...nothing...'

'...guest...'

The replica came back. _I think we're pretty deep in. Ion says it looks like some of the guest quarters since the decor is so generic, but it could easily be just any old room._

_Great,_said Asch. _How am I supposed to find you with that?_

There was a feeling like a shrug. _I don't know. Unless this link does more than just let us talk silently, I can't think of anything. At least you have a place to start._

_Whatever._ Asch was quiet. _I'm going. I'll... try something._

_Alright, then. _Asch left the replica's head and closed the door, but left it slightly ajar. If the replica found something out, it'd be much easier to let him come in than take a headache while he tried to get Asch's attention.

Before he came into the real, tangible world, Asch studied the door. There had to be more to the link than just a _door._ Asch snorted. If their fonslots were truly attuned to the other, there had to be more to show for it. Asch went in deeper than he ever had gone before and looked at the entire back of his mind. He was confident most of his mind, the frontwards part of it, was his own. The back of the mind was where things might get twisted.

Even though he knew it was his brain creating images so he'd be able to navigate easier, it still seemed so real. There was a wall. A dark wall, with that great gleaming door in the middle of it. What else could be...? There.

Asch walked over in front of the door but didn't go in. He stood back, and the further he stepped, the more warped the room of his mind was. Eventually, the room was a winding corridor with the door at the end. He couldn't see the door but he knew it was there. And knowing where it was without seeing it gave him an idea. It was deeper.

Vaguely aware of stepping forward, Asch stepped into his mind's corridor and deeper into the Oracle Knights' Headquarters at the same time. Growing excited, Asch realized he knew the corridor; he knew it as well as his own face. He felt like a blind man walking around in a house he knew perfectly. Asch drew himself out of his mind and stared. He knew where the replica was! A left there, straight ahead for a while, further and further and then a right...

"Come on!" said Asch, running now. "I know where to go!" With people on his heels, Asch led what he felt was the most perfect rescue mission.

* * *

Sync blinked from where he heard the conversation. In the shadows, nobody saw or heard him, but Sync liked to think he knew everything that was spoken about on this ship.

"Yeah, the king's been pretty reluctant to go to war, you know?"

"He only agreed to this because he was the only one who felt that way! Even his vassals didn't support his decision!"

"Mohs might decide he's not worth the trouble..."

"Well, it's not my head."

Leaning back, Sync bit his tongue lightly as he thought. These were dangerous things to be discussing, and information was the only currency Sync trusted. Thinking of what to write, Sync made plans to get his contacts in Baticul, Grand Chokmah and Daath more active. Clearly there was something going on here that would be interesting to take advantage of... 


	14. Liberation

_**Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**_

**Author's Notes: **Well, here's the next chapter. Not a lot to say about this one, thanks to Spartan3x13 again for beta-ing and hope you enjoy it!

* * *

Liberation could be many things. It could be the act of saving someone else. It could be letting someone go for once. It could even be the release of secrets. Liberation was on its way.

For a split second, apart from each other, Jade and Luke were sharing the same thought. _It's been a week._ Jade let go of the thought the instant he had it, focusing on following Asch where he went and the battles that met them. Luke, having nothing to do but wait for rescue with the others, had plenty of time to dwell on the thought. _It's been a week._ He had a stomachache just thinking about it.

Typically, Luke hadn't put any thought in to how he was going to let Jade in on his secret. Or maybe he wasn't being typically unprepared, and there was another feeling that kept him from thinking about it. Luke was caught between the promise to Jade and fear, very real fear, that Jade wouldn't take it well. From that came a number of other terrifying possibilities. What would Jade do? He could ignore Luke's input from then on, knowing it to be tainted from the future. He could hand Luke over to the Order of Lorelei, stating (in complete honesty) that he was a rebel and knew the complete Closed Score. He could do a number of things more, some of which Luke dreamed about, always waking him from his sleep in sweaty horror but never leaving more than an imprint of terror in his mind. In many ways, it was what Luke couldn't predict that scared him the most about the confrontation.

But that was all beside the point. Luke knew he would tell Jade everything because he had made a _promise_, and what kind of man would Luke be if he didn't have integrity? He'd have no right to comment on others and their vices again, knowing that he was even worse because he was a hypocrite. And besides, Jade was the type of man to think things through. He wouldn't do anything rash, and that thought calmed Luke. How happy Luke was that there were people on Auldrant better than him.

"What are you thinking, Luke?"

Luke turned to see Ion. "Oh, um, not much. Just... things."

Ion came and sat next to Luke at the table by the door. "Looks like you have quite the weight on your shoulders." Luke noticed Ion's posture, and how deliberate he seemed. There was something... weighing in Ion's face.

Luke smiled, aware of how his tired skin pulled in the action. "I'm tired, but... I'm..."

Ion nodded encouragingly, his eyes still deeply considering. Coming from Ion, being examined was a comforting feeling. Luke sighed and put his head in his heads, looking at the table. "I'm worried about Jade."

"You're afraid for his safety?" Ion asked. "While I'm confident in Colonel Jade's abilities, it's not a bad thing to worry about one you care for."

Luke put his hands down and blinked - a lot. "Wait, what - are you...?"

"If Colonel Jade is special to you, I know that he appreciates it," said Ion. "Even though he doesn't show his feelings like most people, I'm sure he cares about you just as much as - "

"W-whoa, Ion!" said Luke, waving his hands in front of Ion's face. "You've got the wrong idea. I mean, Jade is my friend and I'd be horrified if something ever happened to him, but - Yulia above - that's not what I meant!"

"Oh?" Ion tilted his head just a little to the side, obviously very curious.

Luke felt a blush seep into his face and groaned as he covered his face. "We're not like that! I'm worried about something else."

Ion didn't say anything, and Luke realized he was going to wait until he said something. "I, um, I have something I need to tell him and I don't know how he's going to react."

"Is it personal?" asked Ion. "Or is it something that will affect our journey?"

"It's both, I think," said Luke, thinking through the answer carefully. "He's noticed that I'm hiding something - nothing bad! - and he really, really wants to know what it is."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Just Asch right now," said Luke, saddened at the thought of Asch's reaction in Yulia City.

"...Is that why he was so upset in Yulia City?" asked Ion quietly. "No one quite knew why he refused to meet with most of us but if it was because of your secret..."

"It affects everyone," said Luke tiredly, putting his head back in his hands with his elbows on the table. "I'll tell everyone one day, but Jade is the most important right now because he's our leader, really."

"He does seem to be the one with the most influence on the decisions, doesn't he?" Ion wasn't really asking. "It's a serious secret?"

Luke nodded. "Very."

Ion hesitated before his next question. "This isn't about being a replica, is it?"

Luke chuckled and shook his head. "No - definitely not. I've been over that for a long time."

"Hmm," said Ion, and smiled widely. "Now you've gotten me curious."

Luke rolled his eyes and laughed. "What have I done? Ion's on the case now!"

Ion laughed along with him and they had a moment together. Ion breathed out slowly. "Well, I'm just glad you're relaxing a little bit. I hope you don't worry too much about telling Jade."

"Thanks." When Ion left, Luke put his head down onto folded arms and tried to contact Asch again. He was just about to start knocking loudly on Asch's mind when he saw that Asch had left the door ajar. _Well, that was nice of him. _Still a bit cautious, Luke peeked his head through the crack before gently swinging it open and stepping in. _Asch?_

Luke sensed he had broken Asch's concentration and winced in anticipation of the storm. Still in the metaphor, Luke was pleasantly surprised to get only a wind.

_Can you get back into your hole already, replica? I can't concentrate if you're there, so get out._

It took a second for Luke to realize that Asch was nowhere to be seen, and there was only a twisting hallway that was flickering madly.

_See, look! _came Asch's voice. _I'm starting to lose it! Now get out already!_

Luke backpedaled into the threshold. _How did you know I was there if you can't see me?  
_  
He heard a loud sigh. _You know, it figures that you don't have enough finesse to multi-task. I can sense you in my mind, and feel you in the real world at the same time. It only takes a little competence to do it, and I'm not surprised that you don't have it. Now, for the third and final time, get all the way out or I'll never leave the door open again!_

Luke hastily stepped back into his mind but left the door open. _Now what?_ A little lost, Luke stepped out of his mind's picture and back into the physical world. He could do the smart thing and think about what to do next... Planning was key in the next little while, and Luke focused his thoughts on the future until the door violently slammed open several minutes later, pushed aside by Asch who was quickly followed by Anise and Jade.

"Ion!" The blur of a girl collapsed into the Fon Master, who gave her a warm hug.

"It's good to see you alive and well, Anise." Ion's mouth was curved in a gentle smile.

Jade stepped forward and to Luke, looked as though he was discreetly studying everyone. "Well, I'm glad everyone seems to be safe. Unfortunately, we need to leave immediately."

"But what about the declaration of our survival?" asked Natalia, looking appalled. "Father and Emperor Peony will never know and... then..."

"We will have time to make an official document," said Ion, "but only if we can make it to the chapel and public eyes."

"We'll have to leave right after that, though," said Guy.

"We don't have time for this," said Tear, looking out of the doorway impatiently.

"Let's go," said Luke and they went out again as abruptly as the three had burst in.

The Oracle Headquarters were as much of a maze as Luke remembered, though it was nothing compared to the labyrinth of the cathedral upstairs. It seemed most of the others seemed to know where to go to get to the chapel, so Luke let himself follow at the very end, making sure the people in the middle were safe.

There were very few Oracle Knights walking around, and when Luke took his mind out of the tunnel vision of protecting the rear, he saw armored beings strewn over the floors and stairwells. Without either good or bad feeling, he noted the blood dripping from some of their bodies onto the floors, but Luke was reasonably sure most of them were still alive. How much they'd improved. Being able to storm the Oracle Headquarters was no small feat, even when it was considered that Jade, Anise and Asch had taken the most obscure route to where they were and had been as stealthy as possible during the whole thing.

Speaking of stealthy, the whole party was called to have it as they heard soldiers making their rounds in one of the larger hallways.

"...ir."

"Have y... essage to Ca... et?"

"Alre... ay, sir."

They heard broken conversation approach them, and Luke recognized Mohs' thick voice as well as an officer of some kind that Luke had never heard before.

"Good," he heard Mohs say as they passed almost right across from where the party had stopped in their places a few feet away. "That takes care of that obstinate noble for now. On to more immediate business, have you found and stopped the escapees yet?"

"Not yet," the officer said, with strain in his voice. "We believe they had outside help, as there is no way they could have escaped on their own."

"Hmm," said Mohs, and everyone could hear the patient anger in his voice. "See it resolved soon. If the Fon Master escapes now, it will ruin everything."

"Aye, sir."

Luke and the others waited for a good five minutes until all sounds of the party of soldiers had passed away.

"Lieutenant Johannas," spat Anise. "I thought he was with the Fon Master faction."

"You know him?" asked Guy.

Anise nodded. "Yeah, a little. We went to the same seminar on efficient use of the first and sixth fonons about half a year ago. I thought he was pretty cool." Her frown deepened as her disturbed feelings apparently increased.

Natalia spoke up quietly. "That part about an 'obstinate noble' was worrisome." Asch turned and frowned at where Mohs had been.

"Yeah, he's definitely planning something," said Luke, glaring in the direction Mohs had left. The fool hadn't taken any specific action against Uncle or Emperor Peony last time; at least not until very late. What could he do, in any case?

"And standing here talking about it will not suddenly give us intuition or a flash of insight into the matter," said Jade. "We have to get to the upper levels."

They left as quickly as they could while being quiet enough to not draw attention. Luke took the opportunity to draw closer to Ion so he could whisper in his ear.

"Hey, Ion," he said, "think we could manage a really quick stop at the library before we leave?"

Ion stumbled at the unexpected noise before he thought about the question. "Well, as long as there were enough witnesses, I imagine we could make a ten-minute stop. Is it your secret mystery that only Asch knows?"

"Sort of."

A few minutes, and a close call later, they had made it to the upper levels of the cathedral. Without slowing at all, they kept running past the crowds and clergy until they had made it halfway into the chapel.

"Let's hurry," said Tear. "Mohs will know we're here within moments."

Ion stopped a passing priest. "We're direly in need of writing instruments and the seal of Daath, please."

The priest bowed low. "Of course, Fon Master." He hurried off, making himself look a decade younger than his thirty-year old appearance in the process.

"Now what?" asked Luke. He'd never done this kind of thing, not ever. There hadn't been a single time in his life where he had to sign any documents or even learn what was needed.

"We need a witness of some rank to watch and sign the document," said Ion. "Then we shall need to make copies. Three for the system here in Daath, and two to the head of each kingdom."

"How long will that take?" asked Asch, looking a combination of worried and frustrated.

"Roughly fifteen minutes assuming we hurry and can find a suitable witness soon - ah!" Ion stopped when he saw a member of the clergy standing over the sixth fonstone. "Maestro Tritheim!"

The elderly man looked up, adjusting his hat so it didn't fall off. "Ah, Fon Master! What can I do for you?" His voice dropped to a more conversational tone as the group drew closer.

"I need you to act as witness for some very important documents," said Ion. "We're in a hurry, so there's no time to find a Cantor or personnel of higher standing."

"Not a problem, Fon Master," said Tritheim.

For only another minute, they waited for the priest to return with paper, quill and seal.

"Thank you," said Ion, and he hurriedly placed the paper on the fonstone and started scribbling at lightning speed, but when Luke looked over his shoulder, it looked amazingly legible. It was simple, only stating the necessary fact that Luke and Natalia had survived and that there was no legitimate reason whatsoever for Kimlasca to make war with Malkuth. Ion signed it without any sort of flourish, and then handed it over to Luke, Natalia and Tritheim to sign. They had barely finished their signatures before Ion whipped it away and had ordered a young woman of the Order to pour wax at the bottom and stamp it with Daath's seal.

Then Ion did it again, another six times. Luke was solidly impressed with Ion's speed, and never even mind his unbelievable penmanship skills. In under a quarter-hour, seven copies of the paper had been created, and Ion handed three of them to nearby priests. Ion raised his voice to everyone present in the chapel.

"Attention to everyone, acolytes and commonality alike! It is now decreed that the two heirs to Kimlasca's throne, Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and Luke fon Fabre son of Duke Fabre, are alive and well! There is to be no war! Spread the word!"

When Luke watched, there was only a fierce animation to Ion's features that he had never seen before; a hidden might. He supposed Ion must be feeling some kind of joy at striking such a large blow against Mohs' effort to have his war. After all, everyone feels good after they've just done a good job.

"Not quite so much the figurehead, is he?" Luke heard Jade to himself and found himself agreeing. Where had this backbone come from?

Ion turned to face them. "Now, we must send these copies to King Ingobert and Emperor Peony by separate eagles, to create a better chance that they receive the edict. Tritheim, may I trust that duty to you?"

Tritheim bowed clasping his hands together in front of him. "It will be done within minutes, Fon Master."

"See that it is," said Ion. "We have some short business in the library, so let's hurry."

There were confused glances among the party that Luke caught out of the corner of his eye as they followed Ion and Luke to the library, nearly running. Luke ran in while the others stood a loose sort of guard around the entrance to the library. He headed straight for the children's section, and scanned the fairy tales and myths. _Lorelei's Birth, Yulia and the Sword of Valor, Daath and Yulia... How Lorelei Stopped the Miasma. _For some reason, Luke's eye caught on that. He pulled it off the shelf, and then ran to the history section and looked through the information on the Dawn Age. It seemed to be heavily populated by treatises and theoretical essays, but every so often, Luke would find a promising textbook. He grabbed as many of these he could run with and then returned to the others.

They eyed his pile of books with mixed expressions ranging from exasperation to amusement, but they pulled him along - Anise and Guy even grabbing a couple of them to help. As they were running, a thought struck Luke.

"Is the Tartarus still docked at the port?" he asked.

Jade shook his head with a grim look on his face. "I have no idea. If it comes to it, we'll take a ferry."

"I hope there's one available," murmured Luke, more to himself than anyone else. He had a sinking feeling about the state of the Tartarus.

* * *

In the city of Daath, they heard the clank of metal behind them and they started to run faster in dread. Loud murmurs and talk followed them, but no one made any sort of move, perhaps seeing the Fon Master among their number. If they did anything to hinder anyone, they stopped the Oracle Knights because the sounds of moving armor stopped at the edges of the city.

At the east pilgrimage hill, they stopped to catch their breath. To his disgust, Luke found himself almost completely winded and had to sit to regain energy. Anise and Guy dropped the books at his side, but Luke didn't put them into the original pile until he had gotten his breath back.

When everyone had rested to some degree, Jade pulled them together. "We have to continue on to the port. Mohs could have sent a bird with orders to stop us and we can't afford any delay."

Luke tried to keep up as best as he could for the jog to the port that lasted about two hours if he was any good at reading the sun. Everyone, except Ion, helped Luke with his books as they went, so he didn't have the full weight of them. There were very few monsters walking about, but Jade had explained that to him in his other lifetime; Daath wasn't just one of the three capitals of the world, it was the religious capital and there were always civilian pilgrims walking about to visit. The most devout kept making time for these pilgrimages well into their elder years and thus, were not capable enough to defend themselves very well.

So the Fon Master of the time when pilgrimages started becoming very popular realized this, he sent out regular raids of Oracle Knights to weaken the monsters' claim on the plains between Daath and the port and defend the pilgrims until eventually, the monster population on the continent had dwindled to almost nothing. Now the most dangerous area on the Daathic continent was Mt. Zaleho and only the higher-ups in the Order went there for their 'business', as Jade had put it. So Luke wasn't surprised that they weren't attacked at all between Daath and the port.

When they arrived at the port, Luke was surprised with a small warm jolt in his stomach to see that his bad feelings about the Tartarus were wrong; it was still there and unscathed.

"Thank goodness," said Natalia, smiling as widely as she ever did.

"Let's hope we don't have any unpleasant surprises," said Asch, being the typical pessimist. Luke was just too happy to see the Tartarus still there to even seriously consider what could be wrong, in any case.

"Well, let's go, then!" said Anise, a little exasperated with having to carry some of Luke's belongings. They followed their eager teammate to the Tartarus, and noticing the guard that was usually set to guard a ship, public and privately owned alike. Luke breathed a little easier when he saw that; it seemed no special orders had been set aside for their ship.

When they had dumped Luke's books on his bed and settled into their places on the bridge, Tear asked where they were headed.

"I was thinking of Baticul," said Asch. "We can drop Natalia and Luke off and then - "

"You're not sending us home," said Natalia, indignation radiating from her suddenly tense form. "Father will know that we're alive soon from the proclamation and then he'll call off the war. And besides, we have as much right to see this to the end as anybody."

"That's right," echoed Luke, not really knowing what to say. Why did Asch want them to go home?

Asch lightly touched his forehead that was scrunched in a light frown before he responded to Natalia. "Do you really think that King Ingobert and Duke Fabre will be able to convince the other nobility and the council to call off the war, even if they trusted fully in Daath's word and the legitimacy of your signatures? An appearance by you in the flesh will be able to hold even the most bloodthirsty tongue there."

"Kimlasca and Malkuth have been getting a lot of mixed signals from Daath recently," said Guy, almost reluctant to speak against Natalia. "I know they know it's the battle for control between the Grand Maestro faction and the Fon Master faction, but both Mohs and Ion have declared opposite verdicts on the war, both with the full backing of the Order of Lorelei behind them. They must be a little confused."

"I understand that," said Natalia, "but I think what Van is planning is a little - a bit - more important than the war." Even Luke could tell that it was killing Natalia to say that.

Jade nodded. "Both very true and equally consequential arguments." But he didn't share his opinion, letting the rest share their opinions.

"I think this comes down to numbers," said Tear. She had a look on her face that said she wasn't too happy with what she was saying. "If King Ingobert and Emperor Peony are unable to prevent war, then thousands of soldiers, if not civilians, will be killed. But if Van succeeds... Everyone on the face of Auldrant will die."

There was an oppressive silence.

"That's putting it into perspective," muttered Guy, almost too quietly to be heard.

"Then... Where to?" asked Anise.

"Belkend," said Luke. "It's Van's headquarters right now."

"How do you know?" asked Tear, frowning.

Luke shrugged. "I must have picked it up from Asch." It wasn't exactly a lie; Asch was the one to point them in that direction a lifetime ago.

Asch nodded, very slowly. "He's right. Belkend would be the most logical place to go if we want to find out more about what Van is planning to do and why."

"But how are we even going to get into where he is?" asked Guy. "From what Sync said, the entire Order of Lorelei knows that Asch is considered an enemy of Van. How are we supposed to get in if both Asch and Ion don't have enough authority?"

"We could sneak in," suggested Anise.

"Too risky," said Jade. "Van is the leader of the God-Generals, the most renowned warriors in the world. If we go by rank, and seeing as Mohs doesn't seem the most able fighter, I'd put my money on Van being one of the most talented and shrewd combatants we've ever seen. I doubt it will be easy to simply dress up and sneak in through the nearest air duct."

"What if the person sneaking in doesn't go as far as Van's personal office?" asked Luke. "They could just open a side door for the rest of us or something. Then we could just break our way in from there."

"All this is rather pointless if we don't even know where Van is located," said Tear.

"One of the research labs," said Asch. "They have tight enough security at night, without even considering what Van's put in place."

"Well, we're certainly not reaching any decisions right now," said Jade, shaking his head. "Let's head off, shall we?"

At Jade's word, everyone settled in and started up the Tartarus. With a certain few modifications that Jade set into place, he had found a way to set the ship on an autopilot of sorts meaning that everyone could get up and do something else unless a particularly difficult maneuver was required. It unfortunately only worked when the Tartarus was in water and not on land, but nobody was complaining.

Within a few minutes, their course was set and everybody set on their way either preparing for their arrival at Belkend or just hanging around. Luke double-checked everything at his station to make sure things were running correctly, and then turned around right into Jade's chest. "Yaugh!"

"Did I frighten you? I'm sorry," said Jade. Luke's mind was anything but put to ease; Jade's face was twisted into a horrible rictus of anticipation and glee. "It's been a week."

Luke's heart tried to sink and jump into his throat at the same time; failing that, it settled for beating unnaturally fast. "R-really?" Why did his voice have to crack now?! "You're sure?" Luke himself was sure it was a week; it had actually been a week back in the Oracle HQ some hours ago. He was counting.

"Quite sure," said Jade. "Would you like to find a more private place?"

Luke sullenly cast a look around the empty bridge. "Where's the most private place we have?"

"Probably outside on one of the high decks," said Jade. "It's not the warmest day despite the sun, so the others will want to stay inside." With that, Jade forcefully walked towards the nearest exit. His grip on Luke's shoulder gave him no opportunity to resist following. Luke wished he could justify getting out of this with integrity intact, but couldn't think of a way.

They were at the highest deck before Luke realized it. Jade released him and then blocked the way to the lower decks. "I hate to force an answer out of you, but..."

"Technically, you can't," said Luke. "I could jump over the rails and you'd never get an answer."

Jade gave him a flat stare. "Yes, but we both know you're just playing devil's advocate."

"Well..." Luke dithered for as long as he could. "Yeah."

And then Jade just looked at him. Thinking that Jade was going to ask specific questions, or even just a general 'explain', Luke waited until it became awkwardly obvious that Jade wasn't going to say anything.

"R-right," said Luke. "Well, I don't - I have _no idea_ what kind of evidence or bits of things you've picked up, but, um..."

Jade merely arched an eyebrow, still saying nothing. Luke swallowed as discreetly as he could.

"I'm not from this Auldrant." Luke let that sink in. Jade's face had surprisingly little emotion on it; Luke could hardly tell if he was surprised at all. The stark indifference soothed Luke all of a sudden. If he didn't think this was a big deal, then why should he?

"Then where are you from?" Jade's voice was surprisingly confident, as if this were any other interrogation.

"Another Auldrant," said Luke. "A mirror, if you like."

"A mirror," repeated Jade. "You mean identical to this one?"

Luke hesitated. "Well, not anymore."

Jade's eyebrows shot up and for the first time in this conversation, Luke could see the hint of the gears spinning in Jade's head. "Yes, of course, even the existence of someone coming to another world would influence the events and when you add the intentional acts... What have you changed?" This last question was directed at Luke.

"Actually, I've mostly tried to keep it on course," said Luke. "It's been working for the most part."

Jade shook his head. "No, I mean what have you intentionally made different from your world?"

Luke looked at him. "...Akzeriuth."

Jade closed his eyes and tilted his face to the sky, seemingly a bit frustrated with himself. "Of course. What happened the last time?"

Luke didn't answer right away. His eyes clouded over and he went to lean on the railing. Making sure that Jade could hear him, Luke raised his voice a little, breaking at some parts. "It was hell. Back then, I was... I was an idiot. I had no idea what Van was planning. I thought he would - make me a hero. Van told me to go straight to the passage ring. There was no time to rescue anybody; and if we did this right, then the miasma would be gone, and - " Luke choked a little. "So he made me use hyperresonance."

"On the passage ring?" asked Jade sharply. "Like you did in our Akzeriuth?"

"Exactly like." Luke closed his eyes, wishing that would make the whole thing go away. "Asch had come back to warn us. He tried to warn me through our bond, but I didn't listen."

"I'm sorry for interrupting," said Jade, "but this bond is... what?"

Luke knew he was just looking for something to back up what he was already thinking. "A telepathic bond we have when we physically align our fon slots to each other. I tried to talk to him right away when I came into this world, but it didn't work because we hadn't been to Choral Castle yet."

Jade blinked. Luke smiled to himself, knowing he had just answered many of Jade's questions with that sentence alone.

"I can't tell you," said Luke, "how long it took me to understand that I was a replica. They had to spell it outright, mostly because I didn't want to believe it. But - before that. Before Yulia City where they told me... Akzeriuth fell. Asch came and tried to stop Van, but I had already used hyperresonance. It was over. Van was... so _angry_ that Asch had come. He had to rescue Asch instead of Ion; it kind of happened the same way this time. Tear saved us with her hymns, but the Qliphoth was the worst. There was a boy..." Luke shook his head, trying to get rid of the burning in his throat and the tears in his eyes. "I - " Luke's voice broke and he gave himself a few minutes. "I'm sorry."

"Not at all," said Jade quietly.

Luke was ready to continue. "I couldn't believe I was the one who did it. I... refused to believe - be responsible, and, and, that. Everyone was so furious. Only Mieu stayed with me."

"We abandoned you?" asked Jade.

Luke shook his head, laughing a little bitterly. "No, they took me along. Didn't like me for a very long time. Probably wasn't helped by the fact that I tried to convince everyone that it wasn't my fault."

Jade didn't say anything in response to this, so Luke continued. "When we got to Yulia City, Asch came back. I was still... I - never mind. I - Asch told me what I was. I didn't want to believe it; it was horrible. That's what I thought at the time. I fought him, but I lost. After that, I lost consciousness. My body was in a coma and I spent some time in Asch's head. It was..." Luke huffed, sighing in both amusement and mild anger. "It was something. That's how I learned about the land falling and how Asch was planning to stop Van. It didn't all work like he planned, but - "

"We failed?" asked Jade, voice sharp with some emotion akin to fear. It wasn't fear, though, Luke thought, Jade was never afraid. In the back of his mind, he felt himself wonder about putting people on pedestals again, and if what happened with Van would happen with Jade... It was a silly thought.

"No, no," said Luke. "We succeeded; we won. It just didn't happen like Asch thought it would, that's all." Unless Asch had really expected to die there, alone but triumphant... Luke shook his head; he really had to stop thinking so hard about all this. It just made problems. "Asch sent me back to my own body, back in Yulia City, once we discovered that St. Binah was going to fall. I figured around then, I had to change. If you had seen me back then, you would understand. I don't want to go into it, but just believe me.

"Tear was still down there. I don't know if it was for me, or for something else she had to do, but either way, she was there when I woke up. I told her that I was going to change, and she said she would watch me and make sure. I cut my hair with her dagger to prove it." Luke fingered a lock of his hair that was still very long. "It was harder to change than I thought it would be. I kept making mistakes. I was trying so hard not to be so arrogant that I went into the opposite direction and I didn't think I was worth... well, anything, for a very long time.

"The others eventually believed in my change and I started to gain confidence, slowly. I started to use hyperresonance again in the other Sephiroth to lower the Outer Lands, passage ring by passage ring. We fought Van for the first time at the Absorption Gate and won.

"But he survived falling into the Core by using one of the Yulian Hymns and Lorelei had to save him. Van captured Lorelei by keeping him inside his body. We had screwed up Van's plan enough by lowering the Outer Lands that he and the God-Generals had to rethink what they were doing."

"Wait," said Jade. "The God-Generals were on Van's side?"

"All but Asch," said Luke. "What Sync just did for us... That was completely unexpected. I had never seen him help us in any way before."

"I see," said Jade, and gestured for him to continue.

"Before we had faced Van, we had to take care of the miasma or else everyone would have died. The Tartarus was at the end of its life, seeing as we had the Albiore - " At Jade's questioning look, Luke clarified. "Uh, our flying vehicle from Sheridan. But anyways, researchers from both Sheridan and Belkend transformed the Tartarus into a - there's no word for it. The core was vibrating at a bad frequency, and that was creating the miasma; it spread from the Planet Storm. So we found the frequency of the core through the Sephiroth and made the Tartarus vibrate at a neutralizing frequency.

"But once Van came back with Lorelei trapped in him, he started replicating again. It both drained Lorelei's strength and started the core vibrating again. The Tartarus eventually broke apart from the stress and the miasma came back all over the planet. We couldn't do anything more with the Sephiroth or the core, so we had to figure out to destroy the miasma for good. But the only way we could do that was with tens of thousands of Seventh Fonons."

Luke saw by the look on Jade's face that he was beginning to understand. "Replicas."

"Yeah," said Luke. "But... Van had already created hundreds, if not thousands, of human replicas already, not even counting Hod."

"He replicated Hod?" asked Jade, less of a question than it was a reaction.

"They called it Eldrant," said Luke, "but yes. But back to the human replicas, they had enough Seventh Fonons in them to destroy the miasma. Me and Asch had a thing..." Luke trailed off. "Never mind. But Lorelei sent his Sword and his Jewel and Asch and me found them at the time when we were about to destroy the miasma with hyperresonance, using all of those fonons."

"But you're a replica," said Jade. "How did your fonons not dissipate at that very time?" The soldier's brow was furrowed in thought, confused even if he didn't want to admit it.

"I had the Jewel," said Luke simply.

"The gatherer of Seventh Fonons," said Jade, understanding painting his tone. "And then what happened?"

"The miasma disappeared for good," said Luke. He hesitated when he thought about the struggle he had with life, and how close he had come to dying but stopped himself from saying anything. It wasn't that important. "I found out later that my fonons weren't stable at all, and I was going to die soon. I didn't tell anyone but I just kept going and trying to stop Van. We created the Key of Lorelei with the Jewel and Sword and then went to confront Van in Eldrant - the new Hod.

"We fought through all of the God-Generals who were still alive and we killed them. Asch died in the assault, and I could feel it happen." Luke looked down, but couldn't bring himself to feel grief; he had Asch right there in the ship, even if he didn't want to talk to Luke. "His hyperresonance came into my mind and I had more control of it than ever. I could even use second-order hyperresonance."

Jade's face brightened. "So it does exist! Can you use it now?"

Regretfully, Luke shook his head, knowing how much Jade wanted to see it and half-wondered at Jade that he didn't even react to the news of Asch's death. "No, not unless Asch or I are - " He was going to say 'dead' but thought better of it. " - totally in sync. I don't know if we can do it."

Jade wasn't as disappointed as Luke expected, though, but just nodded. "I wasn't that hopeful, and I'm confident you and Asch will manage something. What happened next?"

"We went up to face Van. Together with the Key of Lorelei and the Yulia's Grand Fonic Hymn, we destroyed Van and freed Lorelei. And in doing so, we proved the Score wrong." Luke moodily thought of all the sacrifices people had made to make the Score right, but had to let it go because Jade was looking at him oddly. "What is it?"

"The Grand Fonic Hymn?"

"Tear learned it all, thanks to Van," said Luke. "You know, sometimes I wonder if Van didn't want it to end that way. He fought as hard as he could, but I can't stop thinking that he was holding back in some other way... Ah, anyway. Everyone else went to stop the replication machines and I stayed to get Lorelei. I created a hyperresonance and went down to the core. Asch appeared in my hands and then Lorelei spoke to me. He said I was going to go to another world, save it the same way we did in ours except with some more really specific orders."

"And what were they?" asked Jade.

"Don't let Tear get sick with the miasma, and don't let Van create the replicas." Luke recited them from rote memory.

Jade was quiet for a minute while he considered these new rules Lorelei had added. "I don't think I fully understand."

"Neither do I," admitted Luke. "But that's what I have. I'll explain what I know about Tear's sickness later when we get to Shurrey Hill; there was a lot I left out."

"Try and tell me most things before we get to them, please," said Jade. "I can't help if I'm in the dark half of the time."

Luke looked at him in surprise. "You'll help me?"

"Of course," said Jade, looking as surprised as Luke felt. "The fate of Lorelei and Auldrant apparently is at stake, why wouldn't I do my part?"

Luke smiled in relief and all of a sudden, he felt lighter. "Then... We're good now?"

All of a sudden, Jade's face transformed from almost happy to ghoulish. "Supposing your definition of good ignores the fact that you put the party in places you knew were dangerous, misled and lied to us all at many points and the fact that you must know how thoroughly I will dig for answers."

Luke's face fell and he fought hard not to swallow. Of course. Jade was going to be his typical self and be the perfect cold soldier.

He glanced up in surprise when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw Jade looking down on him with a small smile. "Please, Luke, I'm not that heartless." Luke grinned in some relief, but was stopped by Jade before he could say anything. "I'm not going to let you off the hook, though. This kind of revelation could be many things. It could be a lie crafted for political gain, you could be going crazy or..."

"Or?" Luke prodded him.

"Or it could be the truth," said Jade, sighing deeply. "Let's get back to the others; we've been gone for a long while."

When they got back to the ship, nearly everyone else was milling around the inner decks. Asch had taken up a post just by the entrance to the bridge, so he was overlooking the ocean they sailed on but could check on the coordinates easily enough. Natalia seemed to be checking on him also regularly, and Jade and Luke caught the two of them just there.

"Where were you two?" asked Natalia, not unpleasantly.

"Oh, Luke and I were simply having a heart-to-heart chat," said Jade. "Nothing you need to worry yourselves over."

Asch glanced in Luke's direction, and he felt the other push gently at his mind, but abruptly Asch decided not to speak that way.

"Are you sure?" asked Asch, switching his focus to Jade instead. "This replica here has a few nasty things up his sleeve."

"Asch!" said Natalia, shocked and reprimanding. In the small diversion, Jade threw a questioning look at Asch and Luke nodded. 'He knows,' he mouthed to Jade and the soldier nodded.

"Asch is just a hurt, angry soul," said Luke to Natalia, airiness filling his tone. Asch was going to take his head off, he knew it. "Don't let it bother you."

Asch left a promise of violence ringing in Luke's head while Natalia smiled gently and then they continued.

"That was interesting," commented Jade.

"Quite," said Luke, and then stopped at his room. "You go on, Jade, I need to sleep."

Jade's eyebrows rose in some surprise but shrugged. "As you will."

Luke nodded good-bye and then locked himself into his room before falling on his bed. He pulled the covers up to his chin, and stared at the ceiling for a few contemplative minutes until he drifted off.


	15. Unmasked

_**Promethes Mneme, by apakoha**__**  
**__**  
**_**Author's Note: **Well, what can I say? I have no real excuse. I knew May and June were going to be crazy, and I didn't warn you all about that. School trips in May going into June, and then finals and my high school graduation were upon me. To be frank, writing has been the furthest thing from my mind for the last little while; I hope you forgive me. On the other hand, I feel the time spent not writing has been good for me, and coming back to the story is a joy. Make of this puzzle what you will. I thank all the reviewers who continue to review loyally even though my updates are this irregular, I can't say what they mean to me.

I think my style has changed a little in between chapters. If you notice anything, please leave a review and comment - which do you like better, old or new?

An extra big thanks to Spartan for beta-ing this chapter.

* * *

Luke awoke from his nap feeling physically refreshed but with very little of his emotional burden relieved. Quietly, he stared up at his ceiling with unblinking eyes. It was easier not to think about Akzeriuth when he focused on the rumble of the Tartarus' engines propelling them further to Belkend.

As the rhythm of the engines created some semblance of forced peace for Luke's mind, the thought occurred to him that maybe he hadn't really gotten over Akzeriuth at all. Maybe he had just become very skilled at pushing back the memories with action. Given a purpose, perhaps any man could overcome the weight of guilt. And then Luke faced the question of himself.

_Am I weak?_ he wondered, not daring to voice the thought aloud. No one else had thought so before, but maybe that was their way of being kind; a way to keep Luke from becoming yet another helpless wreck of self-pity and doubt that he used to be. He certainly knew it was possible to be lied to in order to not be a burden. Luke furiously clenched his fists at the thought and dismissed it. That was not the way of it. He had to trust that his friends would never lie to him like that.

So what was it? Why couldn't he let this go? As soldiers, Jade, Tear and Anise had killed and yet felt no remorse. Luke guessed that at least Jade, too, had spilled innocent blood before, as well, and yet showed no sign of the torment that haunted Luke. And yet, Luke considered, Jade wasn't all that emotionally healthy, being raised on genius and bloodshed since childhood.

Luke then concluded to himself, pulling himself out of the bed, that there was simply no rest for the wicked.

Upon leaving his quarters, Luke found Tear heading to the upper decks. He smiled, and she returned it, with a little reluctance.

"Hey," he said, and fell in step with her.

"Hello," she responded. There was a beat of silence. "What have you been up to?"

"Sleeping."

Tear slowed and ran her eyes over his face. "And a little brooding on the side, too."

Luke's surprise must have shown, for her eyebrows shot up in an amused manner.

"You can tell?" he asked, blurting the question.

Tear's smile was resigned. "Yes, Luke; I think everyone knows the signs."

At Luke's continued confusion, she sighed and elaborated. "I don't know if you've realized it, but you're a very solitary person, and with that, quite taken with brooding. Thinking deeply. Worrying constantly. Dwelling on a subject with morbid persistence. Whichever definition suits you." Her tone had a barb in it.

Luke ignored the sarcasm and continued in his questioning. "Do I really do it that often?"

Tear must have realized he was honestly confused and not playing games, because she sighed with a mix of sadness and amusement. "It's your trademark."

Luke blinked at that, and almost felt _hurt_. Well, sure, he did take some time away from the others to remember the events in the old life for that time, but was he really so... isolated?

"A little. Probably more than you think," said Tear, and Luke realized he had asked the last question out loud.

"Oh." Luke made an effort to draw himself together, and recover. Tear thought he was isolated from the group. Now, Tear hadn't always been the _most_ observant one in the group... Count that never; that honour would forever go to Jade but even so, for even one of them to think that... It meant...

And Luke realized he'd made a terrible mistake by assuming that friendships would be won so effortlessly in this world. Guy and Natalia had considered him their friend before he had come, and so could be recovered. Jade and Anise he'd won by being competent, and a friendly aid to them in their quest so far; it would not take much to develop friendships more. Asch would come, as Luke had focused a lot of energy on him and had always planned to keep going until the end. And Tear... he'd never won at all.

"Are you alright?" Tear asked in concern, for Luke's eyes had clouded over.

"I'm fine," he said, and put a smile on his face for her sake. "Let's go up."

* * *

A day or so later, Luke sighed, somewhat in relief. Belkend had at last come into sight and they could get on with the Sephiroth after this was done finally. With Jade on his side, he could convince the others to go right where they needed to. Even though they couldn't feel any tremors, being on the water, he knew St. Binah was falling at this very moment. Vaguely, he wondered if anything he had done would somehow change the world enough to make the city fall faster, but passed it off as nothing could change the physics of Auldrant - no matter which Auldrant he was on. The dividing line would hold the city for a time.

"What is the purpose of coming to Belkend?" asked Jade, coming up behind Luke and joining him beside the rail.

Luke looked around the deck to make sure they had privacy. No one was else was visible.

Jade chuckled. "Please, Luke, I have enough shrewdness to know this isn't for all ears."

"Ah, right," said Luke. "Really, it's just an excuse so everyone will know what's going on so I don't have to hide how I know about the Sephiroth and Van's plan and everything. We don't really need to go."

"I see." Jade didn't seem pleased. "I suppose there's nothing for it. A sudden flash of insight is a good excuse only once or twice. For it to guide our journey would be idiocy."

"I could say I learned of Van's intentions from Asch, only he didn't know Van's full plan until I showed him my memories and by now, it's too late for him to say he knows what's going to happen."

"So Belkend is a necessary evil," said Jade. "Hopefully, we will learn enough here that we can go where we need to stop Van and not waste any more time."

"Our next step is to lower the Outer Lands," said Luke, "and we should tell my uncle, Emperor Peony and Aston about our plans, to be diplomatic. We have to go to all the Sephiroth to unlock them in order to connect them, then we go to the Absorption Gate for the final step. Or it might have been the Radiation Gate. Van will be fighting us all the way. And we'll be using the Tartarus to counter the frequency of the core to stop the miasma somewhere, too."

"A long list," said Jade. "Let's hope we have enough to stop Van in his tracks."

"We did before," said Luke and he smiled brightly at Jade, filled with hope for the first time in a while.

Jade looked a little surprised, and then turned to look at the fast-approaching city with a wry look on his face. "I forget you're still just a child of seven."

"Nine," corrected Luke. "I've already had two years since this adventure started the first time."

"A child of nine, then."

"Maybe so," said Luke.

Within another few minutes, they had docked at the Belkend Port, and started to go on their way to the city proper. Luke made sure to put his books from Daath away carefully in his room before leaving, regretting that he had only enough time to skim through them.

The journey there was uneventful, filled with mundane conversation on whatever passed through their heads, or Anise's head, as she seemed to be the head of the conversation. There was an uneasy pause when an earthquake slowly came and faded, and Asch finished what he was saying as if nothing of importance had come to pass. The pace of their feet had quickened, but no mention of it was made.

At the entrance, Luke stopped and looked at it. He didn't smile but he felt a little better now that they had finally reached their destination. Asch led the group to the laboratory right away, with Luke at the back as if he wasn't the leader behind all this.

When they got to the lab, they were met with a surprise - Sync just coming out and closing the door behind him. Luke drew in a breath and the sudden tension was echoed by everyone else. Sync's attention seemed to be drawn to Ion first, but soon went to his other mission.

"Asch," Sync said with surprise and a little anger. He looked around. "You all shouldn't be here."

"Why?" asked Anise, challenging. Ion gently reached and pulled her back a little, trying unsuccessfully to tame her aggression.

Sync turned to her sharply with a condescending air. "Maybe you hadn't heard that _St. Binah is falling_. Why are you delaying?"

Jade cast the God-General a hard look even though Sync couldn't properly return it through the visor. "Perhaps you should tell us why you seem to be playing both sides of this. God-General by day, one of us by night?"

Sync scowled. "I don't need to explain myself to you!"

"Then why should we believe what comes out of your mouth?" asked Tear, voice cold.

"I don't care if you believe me," said Sync. "Just if you'll act half intelligent for once and listen to my advice. You're wasting your time here; go and do what needs to be done about Shurrey Hill and the Zao Ruins."

"Why are you telling us this?" asked Asch quietly, the first thing he'd said since they'd come across Sync.

Sync turned to Asch and seemed to falter a little. After an obvious internal struggle, Sync explained. "The commandant doesn't care if you come out of this alive or not anymore. Your replica is who he wants now."

Asch flinched, and Luke stepped up to the front.

"What?" Luke asked. "Why?" When had this happened?

Sync shrugged. "I don't know why. The commandant didn't explain, but my guess is something happened in Akzeriuth. The timing seems right for that."

Now it was Luke's turn to flinch, and he tried to remember what happened between him and Van back then. As the conversation continued, he went through the time at the passage ring. Van couldn't tell he was lying in the upper city, could he? No, it wasn't - Luke's blood froze when he remembered that one moment before he had fought Van.

_"You foolish replica," shouted Van, "Do you even know what my plan was?"_

_"Something like destroying the Outer Lands, creating a giant replication machine and replacing everybody on the face of Auldrant in some well-meaning scheme to rid the world of the Score," said Luke calmly. It wouldn't do to show outright arrogance, now, would it?_

_"How did you find out?!"_

_Luke couldn't help a smirk. "I don't need to tell you."_

Luke groaned, caught in the horror of realization. Not even Asch had known all of that! And now, Van assumed that he, the replica, was the superior of the two, and - no, it wasn't supposed to go like this... He tuned back into the conversation to hear something even more unexpected.

"Something else," Sync was saying to Asch and Natalia. "Mohs is planning to assassinate King Ingobert."

"Father?" gasped Natalia, hand raising to her head.

"What?" Asch and Luke roared in unison, Luke abandoning his previous thoughts.

"Assassination? Why?!" Luke asked, and Asch yelled similar questions in the same rage and confusion.

Sync raised a hand to calm them so he could continue. "It's not set in stone just yet. Mohs is getting things in place but he's ready to strike if King Ingobert continues to oppose the war with the vehemence he's showing."

"...What?" asked Natalia, staring at Sync. "Father doesn't want the war?"

"From what I've heard, King Ingobert was only convinced to stand down on his stance because of the rumors of your deaths; and even then he thought war wasn't the right way," said Sync. "Your latest proclamation you sent a couple days ago will only have cemented the king's willingness to stop war."

"Not that I'm complaining," said Luke, "but do you have any idea why King Ingobert is so against the war?"

"You tell me," said Sync. "He's your uncle."

"Well," said Guy, "I seem to remember a certain audience when Luke spent a lot of effort convincing the king that war was the worst option possible..."

"That's not important!" said Natalia. "What matters is that because Father will be killed because Mohs wants this war so much! This cannot be allowed!"

"No, it can't," said Ion soberly. "Mohs will stop at nothing to get his war, and fulfill the Score."

"Well, I suppose that only makes him a good citizen," said Anise bitterly.

"What about Van?" asked Tear, suddenly energetic. "What does he think about all this?"

Sync looked at her, and shook his head. "I can't speak for the commandant. But..." He opened the door behind him to the lab. "He's in the office."

They paused for a second, then slowly walked in.

"Be careful, Asch," said Sync. "And for Rem's sake, go to the Sephiroth." Sync closed the door behind them, and then they were in.

"Well... Let's get this over with," said Luke and he went in, the others following him. Asch quickly went up to him.

"Do you even know where you're going, dreck?" he asked. Asch maintained a second's eye contact with Luke, before taking the lead.

_Right, thanks, I guess that was suspicious,_ said Luke. There was a stubborn silence, and Luke inwardly sighed but couldn't help an amused smile. He was only getting friendlier, as the memories given to him in Yulia City were absorbed more and more. One of these days, they might even hold a conversation. It, of course, wouldn't be overly friendly, but there was no use in asking the impossible, was there?

Luke was silent the rest of the walk to Van's office. He didn't really want to go and see the man, but along with Asch and Jade, he saw the necessity of it. Even if the others knew about him jumping through space and time, moving with that sort of knowledge behind them would only tip Van off to something being wrong, and they couldn't afford to give the man any more hints.

They stopped outside the door to the office as Asch hesitated. After all that Sync had told them, Luke wasn't surprised that Asch was a bit unwilling to go in. Heck, after what Sync had told them, Luke himself was willing to go straight to his uncle and glue himself to his side. Why was this happening?

Asch turned the handle and marched right in, the others quickly following. Van looked up from the papers he was writing on, and put down his pen upon seeing who had barged into his office. He was alone, no God-General was around. Van's gaze locked with Luke's right away, and Luke forced himself not to swallow.

"Well," said Van, "I wasn't expecting to see any of you here."

Luke couldn't decide on a reply but Jade took it out of his hands. "I'd say the same, but then there'd be two liars present."

Van's lips twitched, but made no direct response. Instead he looked between Luke and Asch for a moment before shaking his head.

"Have you come to your senses yet?" he asked, directing the question at Luke. Luke thought he must have mixed him up with Asch before passing that off as ridiculous; Van would never mix the two of them up no matter how identical they looked.

He spent a few seconds thinking about the question before deciding he had no idea what Van was talking about and promptly told him so. Van came as close to a growl as Luke had heard a human make, with the notable exception of Arietta, but didn't make any motion.

"You fool boy," said Van. "Have you come to your senses about whose side you will take in all this?"

The phrase 'all this' was vague enough that Luke was tempted to play the fool for another few minutes before deciding to answer it knowing that only Van and Luke supposedly knew what the whole issue was.

"Depends what you mean by 'my senses'," said Luke instead. "If you mean, joining your side because I think that's the way to do things, no. I'm still going to stop you, even if it means killing you."

Van didn't smirk or laugh, but maybe that was because he knew better than to underestimate Luke now. "And you?" he asked, directing it to Asch now.

"The same as him," said Asch stiffly, pointing to Luke.

"Hmm. Unfortunate," said Van, and it was impossible to know whether it meant for his plans, or whether he had something 'unfortunate' up his sleeves for the red-haired doubles. Luke tensed just in case it was the latter.

It didn't slip past Van, and he dismissively waved his hand at Luke. "Calm down, Luke, I won't attack you here."

Tear stepped forward, picking the lull in conversation as her moment. "Van, what are you doing?Akzeriuth is gone... St. Binah and Chesedonia are going to fall... What's – why are you doing this?" The emotion in her voice was almost palpable.

Van's face softened, if only a little bit. "Mystearica... You must trust me; I know what I'm doing."

"Destroying Auldrant?" Tear asked, her tone raising.

"Not destroying Auldrant, Mystearica, creating it anew." Van seemed to pause and gave Luke a calculating glance before turning back to his sister. "The world is decaying and dying; it's sick. Someone needs to heal it, cure it from its disease."

"What about it is dying?" Tear seemed more furious at every passing moment, and the tension in the room shot up as she let her emotions go.

If possible, Van seemed to soften a little more at the sight of his raging sister. "Oh, Mystearica." He looked over to the rest of the group, and back to Tear. "The Score. The Score is what's wrong with this world, and at its root, Lorelei." Luke's eyes narrowed at the very mention of the name. "The entire world is under the hold of what's written on those fonstones; nothing can stand before it. If we want to free Auldrant from Lorelei's words, we must first cleanse Lorelei from the world and whatever clings to him."

Tear stepped back, with a mask covering her emotions. "I see."

"Come with me, Tear," said Van, filled with a tangible energy. "You can be part of the new Auldrant; you and me leading the way into a free world."

"I - " stuttered Tear. "I – no, Van. Don't ask me that... I can't."

Van was silent for a few seconds, the previous softness gone. "Well, if Luke, Asch and my little sister won't reconsider, what about you, Guy? Will you come with me?"

Every other eye turned to Guy; except for Luke and Asch, it was a look of surprise. Luke already knew about Guy's connections to Van, and Asch should know from the memories – heck, he probably just had his suspicions confirmed. Although, Luke had a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that something was a little off... He didn't think they had found out about Guy's past this way...

Guy's mouth was hanging open a bit in the same level of surprise as the others, but he quickly shook his head. "Van... You..."

"I'm sorry for putting you on the spot," said Van, actually sounding apologetic, "but unfortunately, things are coming to a head for me. I need to know now."

Guy seemed frozen for a second, before shaking his head again. "No, Van. I won't. I'm sorry."

"Very well," said Van, and somehow he seemed more determined. He picked up his pen from his desk to keep working on his document, and that signaled the end of the meeting.

As one, the group turned around and left the office. As soon as they were outside, Tear turned and confronted Guy.

"What was that?" she asked, familiar strictness returned to her.

Guy looked as though he wished the ground would swallow him, knowing he couldn't escape the question since Van had put it in front of everybody. "It's..."

Luke watched, wondering if he should step in. He knew he really shouldn't if he didn't want Guy to get suspicious, but Guy was also his friend... Luke would be helping, right?

He waited too long.

"Guy and Van are old friends," said Asch. "Or to be more correct, Gailardia?"

Guy flinched, and Luke frowned at Asch disapprovingly. "And how would you know that?"

"The same way you found out," said Asch with a significant look. He paused, and continued. "I'm guessing that our father told you as well when you were still in the mansion."

_How do you think? _Asch's voice was annoyed, but not angry. _You as good as laid it out for me when you gave me the memory of that council._

_But why are you doing this? _asked Luke.

_It doesn't matter._

Guy seemed to deflate. "I guess if these two know, then it's about time everyone knew." Everyone's attention seemed to focus even closer on Guy.

"I'm not from Kimlasca," said Guy. "Nor am I a commoner from birth." He took a deep breath before going on. "My full title is Gailardia Galan Gardios, Count of Malkuth." He waited for any exclamations at this, and when there were none, he continued. "I moved to Kimlasca when I was just a small boy with Pere, pretending to be a refugee. I made my way into the Fabre household as fast as possible for one reason; to destroy the Duke and his family as soon as I possibly was able.

"It was revenge. Though I can't remember what happened when my family was murdered, I know that Duke Fabre did it. He didn't even stop when it came to my mother, originally a noble of Kimlasca, or my sister, or even the maids and servants. Everyone was destroyed. I only survived because the duke didn't know I was there. I vowed to do to Duke Fabre what he did to me."

Guy paused, looking off in a far-away direction.

"My thoughts have changed, of course," he said. "I'm still just as angry at Duke Fabre as I ever was, but I see no reason to destroy the household because of something that happened during the war. I hope that settles some minds." He said those words looking directly at Asch and Luke.

"But it doesn't explain why Van offered you a place at his side," said Tear.

Guy scratched his head, face as sheepish as it could get with the serious air that consumed him. "Oh, yeah. When our family was still whole, the Fende family served the Gardios. Van was my servant. He was... my best friend. Even taught me the basics of swordplay." Guy's mind had clearly wandered back into his memories and in stunned silence, the others let him be.

"We should go," said Ion after a moment.

"Yeah," said Guy, trying and failing to hide his regret. "Yeah."

On the walk back to the port, Luke felt so badly for his best friend that he had to put a hand on Guy's shoulder for a portion of the walk. Guy smiled at him, and Luke let his hand drop only after he was sure that Guy would be okay.

* * *

As they walked out of the lab, Guy fell to the back when a question occurred to him. If Duke Fabre knew about him being the only surviving member of house Gardios, why had he let him live? He posed the question to Jade in a whisper at the back.

Jade shrugged. "It all depends on logic, I suppose. What are you willing to bet more on, Duke Fabre killing you as soon as he knew your identity or the truthfulness of our two redheads?"

Guy mulled over that question for a long while.

* * *

When they arrived back on the Tartarus, Asch stopped Luke and pulled him to the back of the ship where they would have some privacy. He ignored all of Luke's questions and protests until they were there.

"What is it, Asch?" asked Luke, exasperated.

Asch frowned at the tone, but seemed to be bothered by something. "I've been remembering – looking at your memories – and something's not right."

Luke frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Sync said that Shurrey Hill and the Zao Ruins have been tampered with already, right? As far as I know, we had to have Sync open the doors to the Sephiroth because we could never get a hold of Ion. But in your world, we did use Ion." Asch met gazes with Luke. "It's not actually a problem as what might stop us, but more like, did you try to make it like this?"

Luke leaned against the rail. "No, I... I made sure you couldn't get a hold of Ion so Van couldn't actually open the doors to the Sephiroth... I – oh..." Luke closed his eyes and realized he was mixing up the worlds he was living in. "I didn't think about actually opening the Sephiroth after you failed to get Ion because I thought you wouldn't be able to without him. And then when Sync told us about Shurrey Hill and the Zao Ruins, I didn't question how because that's how I remembered it in my world. Oh..." Luke brought a hand up to his eyes at his screw-up.

Asch was quiet for a few minutes. "We're not actually bad off. All of us have been thinking with the assumption that Van is able to get into any Sephiroth."

"I haven't," said Luke. "I've been assuming that Van didn't have access to any Sephiroth after we took Ion except the ones he'd never been to. Those were Tataroo Valley, Mt. Zaleho and Mt. Roneal. And now you say that Van has access to any Sephiroth he likes because of... of Sync." Luke frowned at Asch. "How could Sync open the doors? I thought only Ion knew the Daathic fonic artes. And for that matter, will Sync even open more doors for Van?"

"As for how he's using Daathic artes, I don't know any details. I know there's a seal involved, but..." Asch shook his head. "And as for Sync's loyalties..." He paused, then shrugged. "It's impossible to tell right now."

Well, that was helpful, thought Luke snarkily, then was instantly ashamed of himself. Asch was doing what he could for this, while he was stuck worrying and essentially doing nothing.

"So..." said Luke. "Are you and Sync friends?"

Asch shrugged again uncomfortably. "I tried to make friends. I have no idea if I did anything."

"I see," said Luke.

From around the corner, steady footsteps became audible and the two watched to see who it was. Jade walked over to them.

"So?" he asked. "To St. Binah and Shurrey Hill?"

Luke paused and exchanged a look with Asch.

"If you'll just give me a moment..." he said slowly, and thought back to what they needed last time.

St. Binah had already been falling when they'd got there, if he was remembering correctly, and then they'd met Dist. Luke wouldn't forget those horrors of machines any time soon.

"But then you couldn't reach the stragglers; it was too far away."

"Right," said Luke in realization, looking at Asch. "So we went to Sheridan for the Albiore."

Jade was giving him a funny look, so Luke explained. "The Albiore was our flying ship."

"I remember that well enough," said Jade. "I was only..." The soldier appeared to think better of this thought. "Never mind."

Luke frowned at Jade, but neither he nor Asch looked ready to answer the question. "Anyways... We have to go to Sheridan first. This will be our last voyage on the Tartarus if things happen the same way."

"Because the ship needed more parts and only the Tartarus could supply them," said Jade, recalling the information flawlessly, but seemed resigned. Luke ignored it.

"Right," Luke said. "Do you need us in the bridge?"

"No, go on with your little secret-exchanging," said Jade. "I can set our course easily enough."

"Okay," said Luke. "See you later then."

When Jade had disappeared around the corner, Asch turned to Luke with a mildly disgusted look on his face. "When I talk to you in our minds, try not to respond out loud." With that, Asch left Luke in the stern of the Tartarus alone.

Luke flushed in embarrassment, and hung his head as the realization set in. _Dammit. _It took a few minutes to get over that, but when finished, he set his thoughts on what lay ahead. Namely, how they were going to deal with Shurrey Hill, and Mohs, that corpulent prick.

* * *

When Asch left, he immediately sought out Natalia and found her speaking quietly with Guy. He waited patiently for them to finish, and they did very quickly when Guy accidentally caught Asch's eye when glancing to the doorway.

The two men exchanged restrainedly polite nods, and Asch came in.

"Hey."

Natalia's smile was so tight, it was nearly a grimace. "Hello, Asch."

Asch knew better than to take her behaviour personally, and instead moved to her side. "How have you been faring?"

Natalia moved her eyes away from the room and out to the ocean passing them by. "I'm fine."

Asch breathed in deeply, signaling his disapproval with that answer, but let it go. She needed space.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ten-year old psychology at its best. Asch inwardly cursed his inability to be a better comfort.

Natalia shook her head slowly. "No. But thank you."

"Is... there anything I can do?" Asch wished he didn't feel so distant, wished he could make up for seven years of not being there, wished he didn't sound so damn weak! As whenever he felt too much emotion, bits and pieces of Luke's thoughts drifted in and Asch pushed them back as hard as he could. This was already getting out of his control.

"You can convince Jade to turn this ship towards Baticul." Natalia's words were as hard as stone, but the stone shattered in the next sentence. "Except I know we can't do that. You and Luke are always in danger of dying; and I'm always so aware that this mission is the most important place for me to be and I hate having to choose between my friends and my father!"

Her voice ended in a wobbling crescendo, and Asch closed his eyes in sympathetic sorrow. He covered his face with a hand.

They existed in silence.

"I'm sorry," said Natalia. She sounded so little. So afraid. So weak. Not like the old Natalia.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," said Asch. And there they were alone until the sun set.

* * *

Luke spent the next day saying good-bye to the Tartarus as he considered the next steps. Last night, he remembered Lorelei's second mission right as he was about to fall asleep. _Don't let Mystearica become sick with the miasma._

His panic at that time was so great that it woke up Asch, and Luke had to convince an irritated Asch that he would be able to handle the problem. Now to actually come up with a solution.

Unfortunately, he was stuck. He almost wanted to try talking the whole thing over with Asch except that he'd said he could do it on his own, and besides, Asch had been making sure Natalia was okay the whole time since they'd split up yesterday.

And when he'd gone to Jade hoping for someone to help him brainstorm, Jade had given him that same resigned look as yesterday and regretfully told him that he had to look over the Tartarus and make sure things ran smoothly.

So Luke was left on his own, and decided to take one last look at the ship he used to like so much before it was used to help the Albiore along as well as neutralize the core's vibrations. It might even give him a solution.

Luke wished Asch was available to talk it over, but who knew what he'd be interrupting. So Luke thought of how he could keep Tear away from the miasma. He started at the beginning. How had Tear gotten sick in the first place?

Well, that was easy. At every Sephiroth they'd been to, she had to absorb the thousands of miasma-tainted Seventh Fonons so they could actually access the passage ring. The obvious solution was to have her avoid the seal, but as he'd thought before, they'd have no way to lower the Sephiroth without getting into the passage ring. Having Van, the only other descendant of Yulia, approach the Yulian seal was as stupid as it came.

And there Luke met the block. Maybe they could make the Seventh Fonons she absorbed clean? That would mean they'd have to clean Auldrant of the miasma at this very moment.

Frustrated, Luke punched the wall as he left the boiler room. Why did Lorelei have to have Tear healthy anyway? Nothing against her, but things had turned out alright before, hadn't they?

Wait... Luke went pale when the image of Ion dying in his arms flashed before his eyes. Last time, Tear was only able to get better because Ion cleansed them himself. And because Ion was so frail... It was either Ion or Tear. How could he make that kind of decision?

Thankfully away from everyone's eyes, Luke grasped two handfuls of hair and hit his forehead against the nearest available bulkhead.

"Rem!" he swore. "Can nothing be easy?!"

Luckily, no one seemed to hear his cry, and he was left in frustrated silence.

"Rem," he said again, and calmed himself before going to the next part of the ship.

* * *

They arrived in Sheridan with no problems. They stopped at the port town that shared the name of Sheridan before starting their trek to the city proper. As soon as Luke and Jade explained the reason for coming to Sheridan, Guy brightened immediately.

"So we're going to see Class M about the flying machine!" he said. "Dawn Age technology that they're recreating – this will be great!"

Without much effort, Guy's enthusiasm infected the rest of the group and soon there was hardly anyone not excited to be in Sheridan. Luke grinned, and went to the giant hall that swallowed their sight when they set their first foot in the city.

"How do you know this Class M is there, Luke?" asked Anise.

"I read," was Luke's playful answer. He ignored Anise's newly confused expression and opened the door.

To his delight, the three old geniuses were up and kicking; yelling obscenities at each other, gesturing wildly, what-have-you, when he walked in. The sight of Tamara and Aston alive, as well as the sight of Iemon so happy, created a tight feeling in Luke's chest as well as working up his tear ducts and it was an effort to restrain happy tears.

"Hello?" he asked, but stopped himself from saying more. He could feel himself losing control of his voice, and took a minute to gather himself. Of course, the three took no notice of the crowd that had come in their door, and no one else seemed to want to speak up to get their attention, so Luke had to try again.

"Hello?" he said louder, and this time Tamara glanced his way. Seeing the large group, she thwacked her two partners over the shoulders to get them to stop arguing.

"We've got company," she said. The two men stopped arguing, but threw each other dirty looks.

"Hello," said Luke for the third time. "We're here about the Albiore."

"Oh, you heard about that, didn't you?" said Aston, positively beaming with pride. "We're about two days from the first test flight. Did you come to watch?"

"Well, yes and no," said Guy, stepping forward. "We'd of course love to see it in action - " Everyone behind him exchanged amused looks. " - but we're also interested in borrowing it. If we could."

Thought there was hesitation on the part of the three, they seemed to enjoy the enthusiasm that Guy was emitting. "Well, my boy, it's hard to make that kind of decision." Tamara gave him a look that conveyed apology and firmness. "As much we'd love to, we can't just hand off our hard work to anyone that drops by."

Ion stepped to the front, in between Luke and Guy. "Then perhaps you'd lend it to the Fon Master, and her Majesty, Princess Natalia of Kimlasca. If that isn't good enough, there are more of us with credentials that might satisfy you." Ion's sardonic wit was well-crafted enough to still be considered polite, though it still shocked Luke for a few seconds. Since when did Ion use sarcasm?

Rather than abject surprise, Tamara and the others now looked simply curious. "Oh?"

"We won't be using the craft for any frivolous cause," said Natalia. "We have strong reason to believe that more land will fall just like Akzeriuth." There were definitely surprised expressions now."Since that is the case, not only is speed of the essence for us, but the ability to fly might become the deciding factor in whether our mission succeeds or not."

"And what is your mission, exactly?" asked Iemon suspiciously.

"We're trying to keep everyone alive," said Luke frankly. "And we think the Albiore is our best chance."

The three exchanged glances, and they shrugged, each with varying emotions plying their faces.

"That's as good a reason as any," said Aston. "Princess Natalia, I had not thought you would risk life and limb to save people of Malkuth, but you've proven me wrong today. I'm all for it."

Tamara nodded thoughtfully, as did Iemon, but there was a slight scowl on the man's face. He said nothing, however.

"So, are you all just going to hang around town until the test flight?" asked Tamara.

"I suppose," Luke started to say, but was cut off by Asch.

"Actually," said Asch, "we have a few of us who know a bit about fon machines. Do you mind if we also take a look?"

Luke threw Jade a significant look, and the older man sighed before speaking up as well. "We've also a ship at the port," he said, "if you need more parts."

"Between what you have now and the Tartarus, our ship," said Guy, "you might even have enough to build two airships before we leave. There were two hover drives extracted, weren't there?"

"Yes..." said Tamara slowly. "I suppose you could have a look. Your offer is very generous."

Luke winced as he thought even she looked quite more suspicious at the sudden flood of enthusiasm, but they hadn't exactly been subtle. "Thank you."

They introduced themselves, and then split up. Guy stayed to talk to Aston about all things fon machine-related; while Tear left to get them rooms at the inn, taking the mysteriously absent Mieu with her. Everyone else decided to go have a look around town, agreeing to meet back at the hall at eight o'clock that evening.

Some volunteered for replenishing food, medicines, weapons and armor, while the rest had free time to wander. Luke found himself with hours to spare, as he usually took over the duties nobody else took over, but Anise must have really wanted to see Sheridan, and she took over more duties than usual, dragging Ion along behind her. Or maybe she just wanted more time alone with Ion, and Luke smirked at the thought.

Luke felt a desire to wander around the town, immerse himself in nostalgia until it was time to meet up again, and left to do so. As he went down the stairs, a hand wrapped around his arm and firmly stopped him. He turned to see Iemon looking very closely at him.

"Hello," said Luke, wondering what the problem was going to be this time. "Iemon, was it?"

"Yes," said Iemon, "and you're Luke fon Fabre. You're the leader of this crowd, I assume?"

Luke glanced around, hoping for Jade or Asch to help him out of this one. When they didn't come, he shrugged, and said very honestly, "I don't know."

Iemon didn't seem to mind the vague answer. "Well, back when I was your age, the leader was the one who started talking first, and you're the one who opened up our negotiations."

Luke nodded, but with very little certainty. "I see. Well, I don't know how much sway I have over what we do, but if you have a question, or something, I could try..." He trailed off, hoping Iemon would get the idea.

"How did you know our ship was called the Albiore?" asked Iemon. He obviously wasted no time in getting to the point.

Luke froze, and it took a second for the wheels in his head to start turning. "Wasn't it in the publication?" That was how Guy knew about the hover drives, wasn't it?

Iemon's eyes narrowed. "A fine, up-to-date publication it must be," he said. "Tamara and Aston are already too far into senility to realize that we came up with the name a few days after we released the article, and not before."

"...Are you sure?" asked Luke, deciding he would BS his way through this. "I'm sure I remember reading the name 'Albiore'. Maybe there was another article that someone else did? Two hover drives from the Dawn Age is pretty big news."

Luke spent the next few minutes convincing Iemon that it was in an article _somewhere_, and perhaps not in the official one released by the trio. While the old man was adamant about not releasing the name, he seemed to accept that Aston probably slipped and told the name to a journalist. A flying machine was the biggest thing in mechanics right now, after all.

When Iemon left, mostly convinced of the half-lie, Luke breathed a sigh of relief and slipped out the door before there were any more tricky questions. He hated himself for dropping that deception into Iemon's relationship with the others, but he needed to do it... Right?

Luke tried to throw off his guilt and did his best to enjoy the city. He fiddled with the public fon machines to entertain himself for a couple hours, and got a Demon's Seal for his troubles. He pocketed that, and decided it'd make a fun handicap in future battles. Maybe he'd even duel with Asch a little with it, although it was hard to say if Asch would accept knowing that Luke only thought of it as an exciting training exercise.

He walked around the mechanically-focused area of time once, and as he left, he bumped into the elderly trio, Guy and Asch, on their way to look at the Albiore. He smiled and exchanged quick greetings with them before they all headed their respective ways.

Long before eight o'clock, Luke found himself very bored. He couldn't even go shop for the group's needs without surpassing them. He bought himself a meal from an outdoor food vendor in the market area; a hot, spicy affair made up of meat wrapped in strange bread with a name he could barely pronounce and found it good enough. Not as heady as native Chesedonian fare, but still had a bite behind it.

Luke then remembered the blacksmith in the middle of town, where Jade had gone to buy weapons and armour. It might be fun to see if he could get anything made with the supplies he had on him. Luke had been part of the main fighting party for a long time now and had gathered several 'gifts' from the monsters encountered.

Wanting to waste as much time as possible, Luke meandered over to the main market almost dragging his feet. _Why didn't I volunteer for something right away?_ He considered Anise's enthusiasm and decided to be generous. _I guess I'll suffer boredom for her sake. _

He got there with time to spare. Immediately, he went through the door to the left, and was greeted with an empty room and a cold forge. Disappointed with what was now an obvious waste of time, Luke left and found Jade at the bottom of the hill away from the market.

"Hey, Jade," he said, and sat down beside where the soldier was standing. "What's up?"

"Nothing very exciting," said Jade. The soldier half-turned to better face Luke, sprawled on the rock. "I see you're as relaxed as ever."

Luke grinned and looked up at the sky which was only now beginning to turn orange with the setting of the sun. "Things are going great."

"Are they?" said Jade sardonically. "Van is steps ahead of us. The Outer Lands are going to fall whether we like it or not, according to you, and we have only your word guiding our very uncertain path." Luke looked up and saw that resigned look on Jade's face for the third time.

"You don't really trust me," realized Luke out loud.

Jade shrugged, coldness in the motion. "How much do I trust anyone? This is an interesting excursion, and it's not working against us. I don't have any reason so far to dissuade you."

Luke clenched his fists and sat up. "'Working against us?' I only want a second chance to do this, is that too much to ask of Jade the Almighty?"

Jade coolly leaned over so he was almost directly above Luke. "I see someone hasn't quite gotten over his ego."

It was worse than a slap in the face. Luke recoiled, and fought back. "M-my ego?! Look at you, acting as though you're the only one who has the world's interests at heart - "

"No, you look," said Jade, and his voice was so calm and severe that Luke felt himself shrink in his place, still sitting on a rock in front of the man. "The only reason I haven't eliminated you is because so far, you've shown such emotion for people's lives to the edge of obsession. I've seen you care, and that's a point in your favor. It's still to be seen whether you're telling the truth about this mission of yours and if you're sane."

Luke was gaping; he couldn't help it. He didn't know if it was because he was feeling so betrayed, or horrified, or what, but it was something.

Jade continued. "I'm still in the process of examining you, but I haven't made any more progress. So far, the evidence seems to suggest you're sane and telling the truth."

"Oh, so that's why you're letting me live," snapped Luke, feeling the rush of anger that was born of relief. "Makes perfect sense." He couldn't tell if he was shaking because he was furious or because he was terrified.

Jade ignored that and leaned down so that his face was level with Luke's. "I can smell fear."

He said it so intensely that Luke flinched and drew away. _Why does he have to be so creepy?_ He was disappointed in himself when his thought after that was, _Did he actually smell my fear?_

Jade returned to standing straight, and a normal expression. "But my _first_ point, Luke..." Luke looked up, a scowl on his face. "You're far too arrogant to do much good." At Luke's continued scowl, Jade sighed and made his point clearer. "You think you've covered all the options, and so when things turn out differently, you're entirely unprepared. You think you're the only one who knows what to do about our current situation, but you told me that you previously had very little to do with the original decision-making."

"Look at what I've done already," said Luke. "I've kept Ion away from Van - "

"And according to Asch, Van's found another way to open the Sephiroth's doors regardless."

"We're at least two days faster than we were before - " said Luke.

"You told me we turned out fine anyway, and now that we're here ahead of schedule, we're just sitting on our heels."

Luke grew frustrated. "If I've only made things more convenient, then so be it! But Lorelei gave me a mission to do and I'm going to do it!"

"And how's that coming so far?" asked Jade softly.

Luke's jaw clenched and he looked away, silent.

"I understand you were to save Tear from sickness, which you say comes from her absorbing miasma-infected fonons at each Sephiroth. And you were also not to destroy the replicas, I believe." Jade's words, as with his tone, were cutting deep in Luke, and all he could do was look away.

"It's not even close to when we sacrificed the replicas," he muttered.

"But we're right on the edge of Tear's sickness, aren't we?" asked Jade. "After this, we go straight to Shurrey Hill, as I'm sure you know. What have you come up to save Tear?" At Luke's silence, he prompted again. "What have you thought of?"

"Nothing!" yelled Luke, and he was so angry and hurt that he didn't notice tears well up and flow over. "I haven't thought of a single thing that could keep her from getting sick! Does that make you happy, Jade? I guess it makes you feel secure when other people fail, so here you are: I'm. A. Failure. I'm such a big failure I can't even get it right the second time. Nope, Luke's not over his character flaws this time, better try again! Third time's the charm, right? Hey, I guess it's true that replicas are made to fail; just not good enough to - " A loud sob cut him off in mid-sentence, and he spun around so that Jade couldn't see.

Yulia, he was such a mess. Luke knew there wasn't much point in running away, as Jade knew he was crying either way. He'd never felt like such a worthless heap.

A hand came on his shoulder; heavy, firm, and as much comfort as a hand could be.

"No one ever looked down on a seven-year old for crying," said Jade, a strange stillness in his voice.

Luke looked up, facing the sunset, and spoke in between heaving breaths. "I'm nine."

"A nine-year old is still in range," said Jade, and that was that. Luke finished crying, and wiped his face on the sleeve of his jacket. He turned around and Jade let his hand drop.

"If you need help," Jade said, sounding as if the words were as strange to him as they were to Luke, "you can just ask."

Luke quickly nodded, and looked down. This was awkward beyond words. Jade wasn't supposed to act like this!

"So." Jade was back to his normal, commanding tone. "Are you ready to go meet with the others?"

Without answering, Luke started walking towards their meeting place at the hall. He still felt like a failure, ashamed of his crying, and weirded out beyond belief, but at least Jade was back in his corner.


	16. The end

_**Hello. Obviously, this update is way over three years late. Even as I type that (three years!), I'm wincing. Hence, this important update.**_

_**Below is the meagre part of the next chapter I had written, but that's not all there is. **_

_**I'm sure this comes as no surprise, but I likely won't be updating this again. I've been in denial for every bit of these past three years and three months, thinking that I was going to keep going but never getting to it.**_

_**I can't stand letting this go unresolved. Promethes Mneme has been my ghost all this time. So, you can read what I have for the next part, and after that, you can read a synopsis of what was going to happen after that.**_

_**My final comments are at the very end.**_

* * *

Luke rubbed his face a few times as they went in, trying to make it less obvious he'd been crying. As he and Jade walked through the doors, he caught sight of a few concerned looks sent his way but he ignored them and instead made straight for Asch.

Surprisingly, Asch showed him courtesy and also ignored Luke's red-rimmed eyes and blotched skin. Not so surprisingly, he started without a greeting and went straight to the point. "The Albiore's in decent shape. Tonight we'll have parts from the Tartarus put in, and tomorrow morning will be the first test flight."

"That's fast," said Luke, blinking.

Aston growled and jumped almost between the two, clearly having taken offense. "We're professionals, boy, we're not banging rocks together! We know how to get the job done right!"

"Er, clearly," said Luke, startled, and sighed quietly when Aston seemed satisfied. From nearby, Guy shot him a smirk.

"Now," said Tamara, "with the help of the two young men here - " She gestured to Guy and Asch, who both nodded. " - the job will be done fast if we take turns through the night. But the second ship is quite a ways behind the Albiore. It won't be done for a while, so I hope you don't need both of them."

"No, just the one," said Luke, and smiled at Tamara. "Thanks for being so accommodating."

"Don't sweat it," she said, waving a hand, and that was that.

Jade made his way over from where he'd been talking with Iemon. "I'd say we should get started. Those working on the Albiore need to get as much done as possible and those who are not should get some sleep."

"Agreed," said Guy. "But how're we going to get the parts from the Tartarus to here?"

"We've got a truck and willing muscle," said Aston, "so don't worry. Iemon will go with them to get the right parts, and me and Tamara will go touch up the Albiore to get it ready."

"Well, if you've got all this organized already," said Luke, "I think I'm going to turn in..."

Asch rolled his eyes at Luke's hesitation. "So go, then."

"Fine." Luke rolled his eyes back without realizing it, and wondered as he left why Guy couldn't seem to stop grinning.

"Room fifteen!" called Tear and Luke waved in acknowledgement.

A quick walk later and Luke took a bed, the one by the window. The sun had set already, so after he took off his shoes and jacket, Luke leaned against the window, wondering how to kill a little time before he went to sleep. He pulled open his travel bag for inspiration and there lay the books he had taken from the Daath library.

The first one he pulled out was a little shorter than the others, being from the children's section, so Luke decided to start with that one. _How Lorelei Stopped the Miasma._ He flipped through the pages, seeing what was in store. Just a short little story.

_Once upon a time... _Luke idly turned pages, reading through the story, until he got to the point where the miasma was created. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head when he realized what he was seeing. _Lorelei lived in the core of the earth, where he could be part of the world he protected. This place he shared with his counterpart Ganthra, his opposite and equal. _He stopped reading for a second, absorbing that.

That was... This was heresy. What was this doing in the Daath library?

He kept reading. _But more than the other spirit partners, Lorelei and Ganthra didn't get along. They fought over everything, not letting their rival have anything. Neither was willing to let the other win, neither willing to compromise. As time went on, they fought over bigger and bigger things. Soon, they were fighting over Auldrant itself. _

_Their battle went on for days and weeks. From the duel that was never supposed to be, something new was born, something also never meant to exist: the miasma._

_The miasma was a sickness that spread through the earth, the waters, and the air. It poisoned all that lived on Auldrant, bringing death instead of the life that Lorelei and Ganthra were to spread together. Ganthra, in her misery and fury, used the miasma against Lorelei. Horrified at what they had done, Lorelei called on the other spirits and used all their might to banish Ganthra. She left Auldrant forever._

_With a void in Auldrant's core, it fell to Lorelei to maintain the core. He absorbed the world and was absorbed by the world. _

_Years passed and signs of the lost balance came to pass. Humanity, not knowing what happened, lived lifetimes without feeling the changes. Plants and animals could sense it, though. In the northern forests, small creatures who lived in trees discovered Lorelei for themselves._

_One day a girl named Yulia went for a walk in the woods. In the middle of the forest, she found a giant tree surrounded by little animals she called cheagles. There, they taught her about Lorelei. Lorelei himself came and talked with Yulia. In the time they had together, they became friends. They formed a pact and Lorelei told Yulia about the future to come. She wrote down everything he said on seven tablets the size of mountains and Lorelei taught her to use his essence to read them whenever she needed._

_That's how we received the Score, where we can read Lorelei's words of our world, forever engraved for us all to learn and grow. _

And it went on, further describing how the Score was for everyone and was to be followed as Lorelei's sacred word - Luke just stopped reading and went back to the part about 'Ganthra'. He traced the drawings of Lorelei and Ganthra fighting in what appeared to be a round room, filled with smoke and lights. Their figures were undefined, Lorelei somewhat resembling a man with a sword and Ganthra somewhat resembling a liger.

The creation of the miasma was frustratingly vague, thought Luke, frowning at the pages. But it was more than he would have had before. Not only was Gunthrea real and apparently acknowledged by Daath, she was a part of Auldrant. Or at least, she used to be. But only if this book had any truth to it, which of course, was the kind of thing that was impossible to prove.

Luke reached up to rub his temples as he felt a headache coming on. Yet another variable in the equation.

On impulse, he checked the date it was published, and found it was printed over sixty years ago. It was almost certainly not worth it to track down the author.

Now the only thing to do was... well, sleep. Luke got ready and crawled under the covers. He was asleep in minutes and didn't wake up when Ion and Jade came in later. He dreamed of knights battling wolves.

"Is Luke okay?" whispered Ion. They were outside of the men's bedroom, so Luke wouldn't be disturbed. The boy felt the thrill of adrenaline when he asked the question, the rush when you feel like you're doing something you shouldn't and you're hyper aware of everything and don't want to get caught.

Jade shrugged dismissively and made for the door. "I suppose."

Ion glared up at the colonel and stepped in the way. "I don't believe you."

Jade sighed deeply and let his hand fall away. "Would I be right if I guessed that this is one of those burning questions you just won't let go of?"

"Yes."

Jade thought about the question for a minute and then looked Ion in the eye. "He'll be fine."

"That doesn't answer the question, Colonel." Ion's tone fell in between amused and frustrated.

"Well, at the moment, Luke should be sleeping unless he's developed a case of insomnia since last night, so the question of whether he's okay - "

"Colonel Jade!" With a full scowl in place, Ion stepped a little closer. "Please stop being evasive!"

Jade sighed once more and adjusted his glasses. "He's upset."

Ion stood for a minute, waiting. When it was obvious Jade wasn't going to say more without asking, he prodded some more. "Yes...?"

"He's upset about everything," said Jade, glancing at the shaded hotel room window. "A lot of stress and not enough sleep." He hesitated, which was more than Ion had ever seen before. "He feels responsible for what's going to happen."

Ion couldn't say he understood that. "What's... _going_ to happen? How can he feel responsible for something that hasn't happened yet?"

Jade rolled his eyes. "When you figure that out, make sure I'm the first to know."

"What does Luke think going to happen?" asked Ion.

"At this point," said Jade, "I think Luke has a very good grasp on what's going to happen. He can be peculiarly intuitive at times, but always stubborn. He thinks bad things are going to happen, and naturally, being the type to brood about things and not share with the class, he thinks the world is on his shoulders."

"That's... But he's shared them with you?"

"A little bit, yes," said Jade. "Almost everything with Asch as well, though I have to question what he was hoping to get out of that arrangement."

"Back at Yulia City?" asked Ion, and when Jade confirmed, he nodded. "I had wondered why Asch was so upset with him..."

"So is that it, then?" asked Jade, and Ion smiled.

"Yes," he said. "But what can I do to help Luke...?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something."

Luke woke up late the next morning. His eyelids blearily slid open as the sunlight that'd been creeping along finally reached his eyes. "Ugh," he grunted, throwing an arm over his eyes. After a moment, he sat up in alarm, realizing that the room was empty and he was alone. For how long?

There was a knock at the door and Luke glanced up. "Hello?"

The door opened and Tear poked her head in. "Good morning, Luke. I suppose I woke you?"

"Ah, no, no," said Luke, scrambling out of bed and very glad he'd slept in his clothes. "I was just about to get up."

"Good," she said. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, yes, of course," said Luke. He started fixing up his bed and straightening out his clothes as Tear got settled. "What's up? How's the Albiore coming?"

"They're testing and it's up in the air," said Tear. " Our pilot is sleeping now, ready to take us to St. Binah as soon as it's ready."

"Oh, good," said Luke, relieved. "Who's our pilot, by the way?"

"A man named Ginji," said Tear. "I haven't met him, but Class M swears that he's a genius."

"As long as they think so," said Luke. He sat down facing Tear. "So, uh... What's up?"

Tear reached into her side-bag and pulled out a book. Luke didn't immediately know what it was, but as Tear opened it and started flipping through it, he recognized where it was from.

"Though unconfirmed until after the Dawn Age began, it has long been suspected that an eighth fonic spirit existed as the counterpart to Lorelei," Tear began reading. "In fact, as soon as the prophetess Yulia Jue began communing with the spirit of the seventh fonon, research into the eighth spirit began. A decade of fruitless searching and testing later, fonologists of the day were forced to admit that there was no such spirit and Lorelei remained an independent fonon. Scientists speculated on what the nature of the theoretical eighth fonon might be - Luke, what is this?"

"Uh..." said Luke, while his brain stalled. "Research...? How did you get that, anyway?"

"All of us carried a book or books from Daath on our way out," said Tear pointedly. "At the time we didn't have enough time to ask questions. Now I'd like to ask you what you're interested in. That's what friends do, right?"

Luke laughed, a little hesitatingly. "Yeah, yeah, that's true. Um."

As he floundered to put his thoughts in order, Tear put a bookmark in the spot she had been reading and handed the book to him. Automatically, he accepted it and put it down beside him.

"So, Tear, do you remember in... in Akzeriuth? At the passage ring?"

"I remember, yes," said Tear, nodding her head. "What part?"

"You told me after, when we were in Yulia City, that some of the memory particles were different colours. Remember?"

Tear glanced up as she thought about it. "Yes... Some of them were black, and they swallowed the rest of the golden particles. You caused a hyperresonance and destroyed them, though."

Luke picked up the book and started fidgeting with the edges. "Someone talked to me there, right when I was fighting Van. This is going to sound crazy, and you can ask Asch, but I'm pretty sure it was the manifestation of this eighth fonon."

"Gunthrea," supplied Tear.

Luke blinked. "How did you know?"

Tear waved a hand. "You know we do talk to each other even when you're not around, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Luke, narrowing his eyes as he flushed. "Obviously."

"Jade told us," said Tear. "You mentioned it in Yulia City. So, you think Gunthrea is the eighth fonon and he talked to you the same way Lorelei talks to you and Asch?"

Luke shrugged. "Well, Gunthrea's female, I think, but yeah. I think she's related to the miasma in some way, too, but I just don't know. Hence, research." He lifted the book.

Tear thought for a moment. "It would make sense that Gunthrea is tied to the miasma. At the Fubras River, you collapsed and were very sick. It's not unprecedented, but that was a very extreme reaction very quickly upon exposure."

"Wait, what?"

"Since you and Asch have the same fonon frequency as Lorelei, the opposite fonon being applied would make you sicker than other people."

"That makes sense, I guess," said Luke slowly. "I'll add it to the list of things I know about her. You're not acting like all this is very weird at all. Don't you find this whole 'eighth fonon' thing strange? I mean, the existence of Lorelei hasn't ever been verified or whatever."

Tear smiled, making Luke's breath stop for a second. "I've learned to just take your word for it."

"Thanks, Tear," said Luke, grinning back.

The door swung open, and Guy stepped through. "Hey, Luke, are you - oh, hey, Tear. Am I, uh, interrupting?"

"No," they said in unison.

"We're just wrapping up," added Luke. "What's up?"

"They're just finishing up the flight test," said Guy. "Everything's a go. We're leaving for St. Binah as soon as everyone's ready."

"Oh, that's great!" said Luke.

"I'd better go pack," said Tear. "Is there anything you need from the shops?" She looked at both of them, but Luke and Guy voiced the negative. "Alright. I'll see you both in a few minutes."

When Tear had gone, Guy turned to Luke with a dopey grin on his face.

"Looks like someone's in love," crowed Luke.

"You're not far off, Luke," laughed Guy. "Let me tell you, though, that is a beautiful ship."

"Yeah, I can't wait to see it in action," said Luke. "I guess we should go meet up with the others?"

"Let's go."

* * *

_**And that's where I got to.**_

_**Here is the rest of the plot.**_

* * *

They go straight to St. Binah where they see that Peony has already ordered an evacuation. Because no one from Malkuth died at Akzeriuth, there was no question of whether to rescue the citizens or not, now that it was disproved as a Kimlascan plot, (except by the paranoid members who think that Kimlasca intentionally passed off their heirs as dead as an excuse to wage war).

They rescue the people, but then they travel to Shurrey Hill in order to save the town. Tear herself goes to unlock it, and Luke freaks out. He goes through a crisis with himself about failing his mission to not let Tera get sick with the miasma. So, he and Tear argue. While Asch writes in the necessary commands with his hyperresonance powers, Luke tries to get rid of the tainted Seventh Fonons. When he can't, he freaks out, but others talk him out of it. Tear and Luke are slightly cold to each other before they make up.

Luke 'comes out' and tells everyone what's up. Appropriate responses to Luke claiming to be from a parallel dimension/the future, ranging from "bitch you crazy!" to "this explains everything!". But it all works out, and they're all pretty convinced by the fact that Jade and Asch seem to be taking this whole thing seriously.

Right after they do that, still in the passage ring floating down to the Qliphoth, Luke, Asch and Jade talk to themselves about what they should do. Jade suggests the Key of Lorelei after a lot of questioning. (Asch suggests as Jade questions.)

There in the passage ring, Luke and Asch use their Seventh Fonons in a way they've never done before and physically travel from the Alternate!world to the Original!world, where they grab the original Key of Lorelei and bring it over. Luke takes it, being the superior swordsman. The two Loreleis talk, and the alternate Lorelei sends the alternate Key to them, which Asch takes; Luke goes to his [original] world and snatches the original Key (the only thing in both worlds which has pure Seventh Fonons) right from original Asch. Asch uses the Alternate!Key to absorb the tainted Seventh Fonons from Tear. Luke holds onto the Original!Key, with the understanding that they may be in need of pure, untainted Seventh Fonons if what he saw in his world is really true.

Important: Due to Gunthrea's presence in the Qliphoth, Luke gets very sick and a little trippy while they're down there in the open, so that's a little bit of an excuse.

There is a major chapter to show the original Auldrant. The damaged Seventh Fonons are causing a lot of problems since there never was a real healing of them. Jade is the only one from the group truly aware of the state of the world. The Seventh Fonons being unstable, they are causing completely randomized hyperresonances and so slowly destroying the original world. This proves that Luke's mission is on a time limit.

Cantabile is in the planning stages to assassinate Ingy (King Ingobert). She's already had the conversation with Mohs, and is now researching everything she can on the party as it is. Reference the injury that almost killed her. Have her focus on Luke and his clothing and have her start organizing. Show off her political standpoint. She will meet with Sync and offer him a way out of Van's control. Sync accepts. (She caught up to him through one of his informants that he told to get closer to the situation.)

The group returns from the Qliphoth and there is no war. Yay! Now Kaitzur, St. Binah, and Engeve are safely lowered. Deciding that they have a little bit of time, Natalia convinces them to go to Baticul and check on Ingy. Esp. since he's kept his word and not started war. Hurrah! (At this time, Luke and Tear are not getting along with each other very well yet again. They make up enough to function together, but it's all strained.)

Ingy is assassinated. Hoowhaaaa! With just the wrong timing, the group comes in, Asch, Luke, and Natalia are declared traitors to the throne (and Natalia's common-born heritage is revealed), and are thrown in the dungeon. The others are deported or whatever.

For one day, they are there. Cantabile went along with Mohs' plan for one day to make Mohs believe she was on his side when it counted, but as soon as he achieved his next goal, C. turned against him. The next day, C. and Sync break the three nobles out of jail. In the meantime, Mohs has forcefully taken command of the Order of Lorelei, kicked Ion out of power. Alpine, the regent of Kimlasca has declared war on Malkuth, backed by the full support of the Order. So this sucks, obv.

They are still not behind in the Sephiroth timeline, but obviously everything is more intense now. Cantabile and Sync take them to C.'s safehouse in Belkend, where they meet up with the rest of the gang, incl Ginji with the Albiore. At this point, they are not going to be asking Alpine's permission to lower the land, but Ion writes him a letter telling him what's going on and to pass the message on to the people. They go to Chesedonia, talk to Astor about it, and then go to Zao Ruins. It's open (Sync opened it a while ago), then they set it to be lowered. Now Tear approaches, and it opens, but the tainted Seventh Fonons are absorbed into the Alternate!Key.

Unknown at this moment, but very important later, the Key also acts as a purifier of the miasma-tainted Seventh Fonons. Ion + Key + presence of Tear = very strong connection to Yulia, so technically, they will be absorbed wherever they want them to.

One of Peony's men was studying Ingobert's (grossly lengthy will), and since he declared Natalia to be the one true heir, it holds up, due to a kink in Kimlasca law that said no matter what info comes to light later, a dead king's will supercedes it. All of a sudden, there's a kerfuffle about Natalia being put back in power. Kimlasca seems to want it, as Baticul is almost rioting because they love Natalia and want her back.

They go to Tataroo Valley and set it to be lowered and Grand Chokmah. Malkuth and Kimlasca discuss the whole issue, and for the moment, they declare a truce as Natalia is put back in power. Natalia declares EVERYTHING on hold until the world crisis is averted, she does intend to pursue war now or after, that sort of thing. She doesn't want war at all, but by saying that, they are technically at war, Mohs is sort of appeased, and they can continue on lowering the land in peace.

This part you will need to write a note to readers explaining, yes, this is a plothole, and yes, I'm ignoring the other God-Generals right now, and yes, I will add to this section ENORMOUSLY later.* What's going to happen is that the group will hurriedly go to the other Sephiroth, link them together, and lower them with little to no fuss. Later, expand to show the other God-Generals, or do something more. It will go much more quickly than you originally intended it to go. Mt. Zaleho, Daath. Mt. Roneal, Keterburg. Meggiora Highlands, Sheridan.

*Yes, while plotting, I write to myself in both first and second person.

They go to the Absorption Gate, confront Van, fight him, he goes down to the core. He takes control of the Alternate!Lorelei, but to them, it's not that big of a deal, because they already have the Key, and as long as they eventually free Alternate!Lorelei before the end, it's all good.

Instead of bothering to sticking an anti-frequency device into the Planet Storm to neutralize the miasma, they figure out that they might as well destroy the miasma now. As the Absorption Gate descends, the more ill more Luke and Asch feel. They use the Alternate!Key that Asch has, as it has several thousand Seventh Fonons from the tainted Sephiroth. (More Seventh Fonons because of Gunthrea. A Wizard Did It.) Luke and Asch do their hyperresonance thing together like on the Tower of Rem, and they completely and utterly destroy the miasma. Now it's gone for good. No Seventh Fonon on the face of Alternate!Auldrant is either tainted with the miasma or broken.

Gunthrea dies. Trippyness, sickness, close to deathness, etc. Can have wicked fever dreams for both Luke and Asch if it feels right.

When the world is settled, and Gunthrea is utterly dead, Luke and Asch are so spent from Gunthrea's death that they're basically out for two weeks. Now the others know, because Luke & Asch told them that Van would still be alive because he leashed Alternate!Lorelei, but they have no idea where to look. They hang out with Cantabile in Belkend while they recover, because Baticul is still strained, Daath isn't _exactly_ totally safe and friendly, and Malkuth is a little risky. So Cantabile's place. Ion and Anise go off to fix Daath, Sync goes with them and tries to put his network back together. Natalia is in Baticul trying to put things back together and play nice with Daath and Baticul, and the others are searching the globe for Van and what his underlings are doing.

Luke and Asch wake up just in time to hear about the party (which was split) finding the Isle of Feres, and also hearing reports from everywhere about this new island, the replicated Hod (Eldrant).

They gather the party together, the ultimate party! Jade gang + Asch + Sync + Ion + Cantabile. They first go to the Isle of Feres, and stop Legretta and Arietta where they're replicating humans. They stop them after a few dozen replicas, then get Daath to rescue them and take care of them.

They rush to Eldrant. It hasn't even gotten started yet. They invade. They fight Van, and he dies. They free Lorelei.

The two Loreleis merge with the help of all the millions of Seventh Fonons from the Original!Key (how's that for Chekhov's gun?), and thus begins the merging of the two worlds. Luke is the only one who stays the same. He comes to this odd limbo, walking through Eldrant and watching the two versions of his friends become one. At the end, some version of the combined two. Luke is in an odd place. At the end of it, is suddenly alone in Eldrant. Walks outside to Tataroo Valley, echoing the ending of the game, where his friends (+ Asch) are waiting for him. Ends with the hellos. And the tackle-hugs.

The end.

* * *

_**Wow. I'm drained even just reading through that again.**_

_**Well, now I've finally put this thing to rest. It was fantastic in the midst of working on all of it, and I love every single one of who read, reviewed, and/or subscribed. To this day, I still go back and read the reviews you guys left for me. It's the best feeling. You guys inspire me to be better and motivate me to actually spend time on things like fanfiction. You've proven that it's worthwhile.**_

_**It's a point of pride that I don't think I had a single flame for this. Not even some of the more disappointed messages were inappropriate, and I am so proud to be able to say that. **_

_**I feel terrible that it took me this long to be able to resolve this for you guys. The only thing that I've been ashamed of is being unable to finish this, because I'm a reader, I know what that's like. It's totally unfair to you, and a terrible return on the love this fic has gotten.**_

_**Thank you very much for reading, and I am so sorry it's ended this way.**_


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